Ryan Poles said it best during the end-of-season news conference two days after the Chicago Bears lost to the Los Angeles Rams in the Divisional round.
The Bears’ general manager provided his thoughts on building a roster to become a contender.
“I think you see it across the league all the time, you panic, and you want to do crazy things that everybody else wants you to do, and it leads to some situations that you can't get out of,” Poles said. “We want to stay flexible. We want to stay open-minded. We want to stay committed to building this team the right way, because I think that's the best way to sustain success. We're always going to be opportunistic. We're going to go through opportunities that pop up and talk through them. Is this best for us short term? Is it best for us long term? And then we move from there.”
The move that may be available to the Bears and a majority of the NFL is the opportunity to acquire Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby. FOX Sports insider Jay Glazer joined Yahoo! Sports Daily from Media Row in San Francisco and shared his insight on Crosby.
Glazer believes that Crosby’s time with the Raiders is done, and shared that a trade package to acquire the five-time Pro Bowler would “probably (be) more than Micah (Parsons.”
Jay Glazer believes Maxx Crosby’s time with the Raiders is over and the price to trade for him will be more than what Micah Parsons went for. 🤯
— Bearsszn (@bearszn) February 4, 2026
Micah was traded for two 1st round picks and Kenny Clark. The Bears have to pay a big price tag if they want Maxx.
🎥: @YahooSports pic.twitter.com/3vreEHwR8P
Should Bears go after Maxx Crosby in a trade?
The Green Bay Packers traded two first-round draft picks and three-time Pro Bowler defensive tackle Kenny Clark to get Parsons. If a trade package requires more than what it took for Parsons, then Poles needs to sit this one out.
Poles said he wanted to build the team the right way because that would help sustain success. Trading two first-round picks and a player is a lot for one defensive end. Parsons (26) is two years younger than Crosby (28), and the Packers’ edge defender has put together better statistics.
Crosby and Parsons from 2021-25, according to Pro Football Focus.
Total QB Pressures:
- Crosby: 390
- Parsons: 431
Sacks:
- Crosby: 59
- Parsons: 73
Batted Passes
- Crosby: 18
- Parsons: 5
Tackles
- Crosby: 224
- Parsons: 191
Forced Fumbles Made:
- Crosby: 7
- Parsons: 11
PRSH Grade for 2025:
- Crosby: 23rd at 72.1
- Parsons: No. 2 with a 93.6
RDEF Grade for 2025:
- Crosby: 78.7
- Parsons: 70.2
If Poles and coach Ben Johnson believe their team is a pass rusher away from winning a Super Bowl, then a Crosby trade could be in the cards, but this is a scenario where the two need to fold their hand and pursue upgrading the pass rush through the draft.
Here is something that also matters. Poles has hit in the first round. Darnell Wright in 2023. Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze in 2024. And most recently with Colston Loveland.
Let’s see how Poles and his staff approach the upcoming draft, which is known for a deep pool of edge players. This could be the year that the Bears draft a defensive end in the first round.
Read more: Bears stadium update might make potential nightmare location change a reality
If the Bears were to trade for Crosby at the current asking price, the team would have one of the best edge rushers in the NFL, but it would come at a deep cost. For that reason, the Bears shouldn’t trade for Crosby.