The Bears always seem to be asking for patience and faith, and that’s tiresome after years of never delivering results. But this time, they might actually be right to wait.
They’re pointed in the right direction, especially with the upgrade at head coach in Ben Johnson, but have a long way to go. While standing 5-3 going into their game against the Giants on Sunday is the most momentum they’ve had since 2018, a clear-eyed look at their roster shows much work to be done.
Johnson and general manager Ryan Poles saw it that way, as well.
It would’ve been irresponsible to get caught up in wins against bad teams and swing too big at the trade deadline Tuesday. They took the prudent path instead and made only a minor move to pick up Browns defensive end Joe Tryon-Shoyinka for a negligible late-round pick swap.
That certainly isn’t the answer for this season, but the long-term view prevailed.
The Bears need solutions at left tackle, defensive end and probably running back, not to mention potential replacements for starters at safety and cornerback, depending on how the next few months go. It’s smarter to use their first- and second-round picks and salary-cap space to solve many of those problems rather than pour resources into a huge trade to solve just one.
“We want to sustain for a long period of time,” Poles said Wednesday. “With Joe, we can move the needle a little bit … but also continue to build through the draft so that we can sustain it.”
The top pass rushers thought to be on the market were the Raiders’ Maxx Crosby and Bengals’ Trey Hendrickson, and when asked about them, Poles said he made calls on “all of the guys you would imagine” to get a feel for their availability and price.
Either of them likely would’ve vaulted the Bears into a wild-card spot, but that’s a short-sighted approach and thinking too small. This team isn’t one star player away from being a championship contender.
“He was turning over every stone looking for ways to improve our roster both this year and in future years,” Johnson said of Poles. “We had some really healthy dialogue on what we want this thing to look like as we are building this thing out. … I feel really good about the move we made.”
More so, probably, he feels good about moves the Bears didn’t make.
“A lot of times you get into these moments and you get tunnel vision about, ‘Right now, what do I need?’ ” Poles said. “His ability to see short term and long term and for us to be able to have those conversations is really awesome.”
Teams hope to find franchise-changers with first-round picks and Pro Bowl selections in the second round, and the Bears have several spots where they could use that type of talent next offseason.
Those players also arrive on rookie contracts, extending the competitive window financially. That’s key for a team that hasn’t arrived yet.
Had the Bears signed and extended Hendrickson, for example, Spotrac projects his market value at $132.8 million over four years. The Bears can draft a defensive end in the first round at a salary likely between $4 million and $7 million.
When a team goes all in, as the Packers did before the season by trading two first-round picks for linebacker Micah Parsons, “that timeline starts to get shorter and shorter,” Poles said. The Bears still need ample runway.
If everything goes right, Poles and Johnson could have a different conversation this time next year.
If Williams solidifies himself as the quarterback of the future and they hit on their upcoming draft picks and free agents, the Bears might be one splashy trade away from contending. Then the deadline will be much more fun.
