Early return not looking good for Chicago Bears and Ryan Poles
A look at the Chicago Bears 2022 free agent signings
This free-agency period was a bit more exciting than in 2022. Ryan Poles had plenty to work with compared to his first year as general manager. He decided not to pay Roquan Smith and instead brought in Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards for basically the same amount of money. Things haven't looked as good over the first three weeks, but I have to think that their talent will come together before the end of the season. I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's see the list of players.
- Nathan Peterman, QB
- Dylan Cole, LB
- D'Onta Foreman, RB
- Robert Tonyan, TE
- Andrew Billings, DE
- P.J. Walker, QB
- Travis Homer, RB
- DeMarcus Walker, DE
- Tremaine Edmunds, LB
- Nate Davis, OL
- T.J. Edwards, LB
- Yannick Ngakoue, DE
- Mercedes Lewis, TE
When we look at this group, a few things stand out. Tremaine Edmunds and Nate Davis saw the longest contracts. Those two should be here for a bit. Edmunds signed a four-year deal that has an out after three years. Nate Davis signed a three-year deal. He's off to a slow start due to losing his mom. I'm not here to judge him for that as I lost both my parents before the age of 40 — it is not easy. DeMarcus Walker also signed a three-year deal. Both Davis and Walker have outs after year two.
T.J. Edwards only signed a one-year deal. Will he be here next year? Andrew Billings also only signed a one-year deal. He was my favorite signing of the offseason and he's been playing the best among the 2023 free agents in my opinion. I'm a little surprised we haven't seen much from Mercedes Lewis or Robert Tonyan. Ryan Poles paid Cole Kmet and he's been the lead guy at the tight end position over the first three weeks. Yannick Ngakoue was a huge signing, but it hasn't paid off. He has the only sack for the Chicago Bears. Yes, one sack for the entire team over three weeks of football. Yikes!
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Overall, I still think the process that Ryan Poles has been going through is the right move. Tearing this thing down, acquiring draft picks, and building it back up again is the approach. I like the thought process though and I'm giving Poles more time. It's unfortunate that the early returns on his decisions, especially the hiring of Matt Eberflus, are not looking good.