This offseason was supposed to be the one where the Chicago Bears made a huge splash to get their team over the top for the Super Bowl, but that has yet to happen.
Bears general manager Ryan Poles has made it clear with his moves that it is all about finding replacements for lost players, as he has so far added top names like safety Coby Bryant and linebacker Devin Bush to replace Kevin Byard and Tremaine Edmunds. Bleacher Report writer Alex Ballentine picked one word to describe every team's offseason moves so far, with the Bears getting "reactive."
"The Bears entered the offseason with a lot of hype. While they didn't make any splashy trades or signings, they did what they could to essentially replace pieces they lost. Drew Dalman's retirement led to a trade for Garrett Bradbury, Coby Bryant is coming in to replace Jaquan Brisker, and Devin Bush will replace Tremaine Edmunds. They didn't get appreciably better or worse."
Bears' 2026 offseason described as reactive
One positive takeaway is that Poles have not waited for anyone to make the first move. As soon as he lost his key free agents, he jumped at finding their replacement. Even when Dalman retired, it took less than a week for Poles to trade for Bradbury.
The problem is that none of the moves will really get the Bears fans excited, as they are seen as either average moves or downgrades from before. Bryant and Bush are good additions to the team, and even though Bradbury might not be on the level of Dalman, he is still a reliable starter in the NFL.
Of course, the one position that has not been addressed that every Bears fan wants to be fixed is at edge rusher. Chicago technically didn't really lose anyone there, so Poles is more focused on getting the replacements first before finding the upgrades.
Read more: Add another Bears defensive depth player to long list of free agent departures
Do the Bears have more work to do in the offseason? Yes, but they are still having a solid one even if fans in the Windy City don't feel the same.