3 reasons to give Chicago Bears GM Ryan Poles a break on first draft

2. Chicago Bears’ salary cap situation was not in good shape

Ryan Poles did not have the draft capital to make much more than what he did. He also did not have much money. Beyond that, he spent a lot of this offseason cutting dead weight and eating dead money so that it does not haunt them next year or down the road.

This is another sign that Poles is doing a lot more fixing than building. Poles traded Khalil Mack for a rookie salary deal to cut costs. He cut Tarik Cohen, cut Danny Trevathan, cut Nick Foles. He is eating a lot of bad money for the sins of Ryan Pace.

The worst thing that Poles could do right now is to turn around and spend it on next season. This is not some plan to sabotage Justin Fields, but rather a realization that if Justin Fields is going to have a chance, they have to be ready for the 2023, 2024 drafts, and beyond.

To add picks in this draft at a higher slot they would have to dip into the drafts that matter much more than this one. To add names in free agency would mean spending money that they currently are trying to get back.