Ryan Poles got reminded of how much money he's wasted on Bears' defense

Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles has done a fantastic job building this young offense into one of the best in the league. The defense, on the other hand, is not so much.

Over the last few offseasons, the Bears have brought in guys like Grady Jarrett and Dayo Odeyingbo, who have cost the franchise a lot of money with little to show for it. Warren Sharp looked at the most expensive defenses in the NFL, with the Bears coming in third at $177.7 million spent on this defense.

$193.0M - Steelers
$187.4M - Ravens
$177.7M - Bears
$174.7M - Giants
$169.0M - Patriots

Bears are not getting their money's worth from defense over the years

Even with guys like Montez Sweat, who is nearly getting $100 million on his contract, while he's been good, he hasn't been great. Sweat's 10 sacks were the most in a full season with the Bears that he has accumulated.

Odeyingbo is getting over $50 million just to have one sack in the first half of the season and to miss the second half with an injury. Jarrett also missed a few games with an injury, but even in the games he played, he had little to no impact.

The main problem with the Bears is that there is way too much focus on offense during the draft. Despite getting safety Dillon Thieneman in the first round, the next three picks in the second and third rounds were all on offense. The 2026 NFL Draft should have been the time for Poles and the Bears to find defensive starters to develop.

Instead, they will continue to overpay for free agent defenders who are bound to disappoint and fail. Coby Bryant hopes to be the one who breaks the chain, but aside from Jaylon Johnson, none of their defense-only draft picks over the last five years have made a significant impact.

Poles hopefully got things right, but spending nearly $180 million on a defense that ranked in the bottom 10 last year in total defense and points allowed is a bad look. Things must get better in 2026.

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