INDIANAPOLIS — Bears general manager Ryan Poles was relatively conservative in free agency during his first three offseasons, but that could change this year.
Coming off a season in which Poles believed the roster was good enough to compete for a playoff spot but instead fell flat at 5-12, he said this week the closely aligned views on personnel between him and new coach Ben Johnson could justify big acquisitions when free agency opens March 10.
“The clearer the vision, the more aggressive you can be,” Poles said at the NFL Scouting Combine. “That’s important. You want to be selective in free agency… but if there are certain players that [check all the] boxes you need, there is really no reason to hold back.”
The Bears will head into free agency with the fourth-most salary-cap space in the league at around $79.8 million. Over the Cap calculate that number based on a cap of $279.5 after the NFL said it is projected to fall between $277.5 million and $281.5 million.
One of the most obvious targets would be Chiefs Pro Bowl guard Trey Smith, whom Poles helped draft out of the sixth round in 2021 as Chiefs executive director of player personnel.
“I’m not going to get into players who are not on our roster right now, but I am proud to have been a part of that draft process,” he said.
Both Poles and Johnson have expressed confidence that they can address enough of the Bears’ roster shortfalls to build the team into a playoff contender this season. Between the cap space and three picks in the first two rounds of the draft, Johnson said, “We feel really good about free agency and the draft in how the supply matches up with our demand.”