10 Takeaways from the Chicago Bears Khalil Mack trade
Chicago Bears Takeaway No. 9: How bad will the defense now become?
The next big decision Ryan Poles needs to make is how good, bad, or mediocre does he intend to make the Bears defense while primarily pushing his resources toward the development of Justin Fields. Obviously, a defense molded into Eberflus’ vision of one that aggressively and successfully pursues takeaways would also enhance Fields’ growth as a quarterback.
To make this more likely to happen in 2022, the move would be to sign defensive free agents that fit Eberflus’ vision. Then push a good portion of their 2022 money into the Bears 2023 cap. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out.
Chicago Bears Takeaway No. 10: The team should be legit contenders in 2023
Lastly, given the state of NFC teams, I can see the Chicago Bears being legit contenders for NFC Champs in 2023 if Ryan Poles and company make any number of shrewd moves in both 2022 and 2023. This is of course assuming Justin Fields in 2023 is truly emerging as a dangerous quarterback.
2022 is for making sure the Bears offense has the important pieces in place to not only enable Fields to grow into the best version of himself but also means the Bears’ offense has all it needs in place so that their offense can flourish and become a feared NFL unit. There is a lot to like about the Bears’ future and decisions the Chicago Bears make in the next 12 months will have enormous ramifications for their long-term success.