With a week and a half in the books for the Chicago Bears during the 2026 offseason, it has not been as fiery as most fans wanted, but it has still been efficient.
Bears general manager Ryan Poles may not have made a splash so far, but he has found some talent to add to the roster with guys like safety Coby Bryant and linebacker Devin Bush. ESPN Bears reporter Courtney Cronin answers a question that most of the fan base has in the early portion of the offseason: Did the Bears hit their free agency goals?
"Chicago needs to close on the football faster and feels it accomplished that goal, especially with the addition of Bush. The Bears upgraded one of their starting safety spots with Super Bowl champion Bryant and feel they mitigated the loss caused by Drew Dalman's retirement by trading for a veteran in Bradbury."
Bears believed to have hit the biggest concerns for 2026
This Bears roster has seen some upgrades, especially on defense, which needed more attention than anything else. Bryant is an upgrade from Kevin Byard and Jaquan Brisker, while Bush is better than what Tremaine Edmunds had at linebacker in 2025.
There are other clear team needs the Bears will need to address at some point, but those could be addressed in the NFL Draft. The Bears still need to add a solid edge rusher, a starting safety, a future starting center, and a wide receiver.
One major problem for Chicago right now is that they don't have much money, with just $1 million in salary cap space. This will lead the team to restructure contracts, extend players' contracts, and either release or trade players.
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Once the Bears get the right pieces in place from the draft and actually create some cap space, the team will be in a much better position for 2026. For now, they have attacked the offseason the best way they could.