Grading Ryan Poles 10 biggest free agent moves as Chicago Bears GM

7. Ryan Griffin

Ryan Griffin signed a one-year, $1.175M deal with the Chicago Bears this offseason. Considering the salary, he was not guaranteed much to start training camp, but most saw him as a reliable number-two tight end. At that price, it would be a solid return.

That is not what the Chicago Bears got, though. The team claimed Trevon Wesco on waivers after initial cutdowns in August. Wesco was the number three tight end for maybe two weeks before he passed up Griffin in playing time.

Wesco missed the final two weeks of the season, which increased the playing time for Griffin, but he was clearly behind Wesco, and of the two, the team will be looking to re-sign Wesco, and Griffin will be walking.

Of course, it is not like Ryan Poles had the choice to pluck players from other teams in free agency. Still, seeing someone signed in August beat out the guy you paid to be your backup tight end is not great. The lack of resources invested here prevents the grade from being a complete fail.

Ryan Griffin: D