Ryan Poles, justifiedly so, receives his fair share of criticism from Chicago Bears fans. In his three years overseeing Bears football operations, the Bears have won an average of 5 games per season.
Three years into a rebuild, with disappointment stacking each year, there were many calls for his job especially if his presence atop the Bears would be an impediment to prospective head coaching candidates.
However, Ben Johnson's endorsement of Ryan Poles as his GM counterpart bought Poles some time and brought some much-needed credibility to the Bears as an organization at a time when they were rapidly descending to one of the league's laughingstocks.
While questions remain about Poles' competence to identify difference-changing players both in free agency and the draft, one thing that he and the Bears brass must be given credit for his how they approached the D.J. Moore contract extension.
D.J. Moore was extended by the Bears last offseason to the tune of a 4-year/110M deal despite being two years away from free agency. Had the Bears chosen to delay negotiating an extension this spring they would have done so in an NFL climate that has Tee Higgins seeking north of 30M/year, D.K. Metcalf signing a 5-year/150M dollar deal, and Jamarr Chase pushing for 40M/year in his new deal.
D.J. Moore would have had an extraordinary amount of leverage to negotiate a deal if the Bears chose to start talks now, coming off a season in which their rookie QB looked shaky, and into a season with a first-year head coach who needs weapons to maximize the potential of his offense. By paying D.J. Moore a year earlier than they needed to the Bears may have saved themselves millions that can go towards acquiring more players in the trenches this offseason.
Ryan Poles and Kevin Warren deserve credit for making sure there was no contract drama between D.J. Moore and the Chicago Bears
D.J. Moore is currently the 9th highest-paid WR in the NFL per average annual value, and his extension hasn't even kicked in yet. This is before Tee Higgins and Jamarr Chase sign their new deals as well. With his extension set to be up in 2030, the Bears have effectively guaranteed that D.J Moore's entire prime with the Bears will be at a bargain compared to other receivers in the league. It's possible that going into the last year of his deal, D.J. Moore won't be amongst the top 20 highest paid receivers in the league, an absolute steal for the Bears.
While Ryan Poles deserves his fair share of criticism for the Bears' failures to draft and sign elite talent, he is also worthy of praise for the foresight with which he extended D.J. Moore as it has already paid dividends when assessing the current state of the wide receiver market around the league.