The Chicago Bears have had a refreshing offseason. Gone are the days of the quarterback civil war or the idea of Ryan Poles building the house from the outside in. Instead, Poles has spent the offseason making sure the trenches of the Bears' roster are significantly upgraded.
Over the course of the past week, Poles added three new starting offensive linemen. The additions of Ryan Thuney, Jonah Jackson, and Drew Dalman have defined the Bears' offseason. For the first time since Poles took over as the general manager of the Bears, he invested significant resources into surrounding his starting quarterback with not just an average offensive line but a potentially great offensive line.
After bolstering the offensive line, Poles turned his attention to the defensive line. Added to the defensive line was fomer Pro-Bowl defensive tackle Grady Jarrett in addition a pass rusher in Dayo Odeyingbo they hope is on the ascent.
The Bears have yet to address the skill positions in free agency but that figures to change during the second wave of signings. There are players on the market who are clear fits for what the Bears will likely be doing on offense under Ben Johnson.
One player added to the list of available free agents is wide receiver Cooper Kupp. Despite efforts to trade Kupp, the Rams were unable to find a partner. Kupp was officially released by the Rams on Wednesday and is now free to sign with any team. The Bears are among the initial list of suitors ESPN's Dan Orlovsky has for Kupp. Beyond the Bears, Orlovsky mentions the Seattle Seahawks, New England Patriots, Tennessee Titans, and Pittsburgh Steelers as options for Kupp.
Cooper Kupp likely is not a fit for the Chicago Bears' offense
Given the type of receivers the Bears already have in DJ Moore and Rome Odunze, it seems unlikely that the team would place a high priority on bringing Kupp into the mix. In addition, the slot wide receiver in Johnson's offense figures to be more of a blocker than a pass catcher. Given that scheme, it's more likely that Tim Patrick is a better fit for the Bears as the slot wide receiver than Kupp.