Getty Bears GM Ryan Poles likely isn't done adding help on offense for QB Justin Fields.
Ryan Poles almost had his guy. Almost.
The general manager for the Chicago Bears tried to pry restricted free agent Ryan Bates away from the Buffalo Bills, but the Bills matched Poles’ four-year, $17 million offer. Poles intentionally frontloaded the contract offered to Bates with $8.8 million in guaranteed money over the first two years with the aim of making it difficult for the Bills to match. They matched it anyway, which speaks to the young O-lineman’s value.
Poles found out the team lost out on Bates as he was meeting with members of the media at the NFL owners meetings on March 28. “It stinks,” he said upon hearing the news, per Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune.
“We’ll adjust and we’ll keep adding players,” Poles added, via Biggs. “It’s out of your control. It’s just part of the deal where you put your best foot forward and we did. We came strong. There’s always work to be done. … We’ve been in conversations with other people that are still out there, too. There’s always work to be done, especially up front, so we’ll keep at it.”
Salary cap expert Brad Spielberger of Pro Football Focus tweeted he felt Poles’ attempt to poach the Bills’ OL was “approached very smartly,” and later noted in a separate tweet that losing out on Bates may force the Bears to finally make an “aggressive” move in free agency.
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Bears Need Help at OL & WR, Stat
So far in free agency, the Bears have signed defensive tackle Justin Jones, wideouts Equanimeous St. Brown and Byron Pringle, defensive lineman Al-Quadin Muhammad, offensive linemen Lucas Patrick and Dakota Dozier, fullback Khari Blasingame, quarterback Trevor Siemian and linebacker Nicholas Morrow. The team had also inked defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi to a three-year deal averaging $13.5 million per year, but a failed physical forced them to renege and sign Jones instead.
While several of those signings, including Patrick, Morrow and Muhammad, will likely prove to be sneakily good ones, the Bears still need to replace last year’s starting right guard James Daniels, who signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers in free agency — and they also lack a solid No. 1 wide receiver.
“Bears (unfortunately) need to start making some aggressive moves. Don’t need to spend big — not really anyone left anyway — but this offensive roster is well below replacement level,” Spielberger tweeted.
Bears (unfortunately) need to start making some aggressive moves
Don’t need to spend big – not really anyone left anyway – but this offensive roster is well below replacement level. Not a great way to evaluate Justin Fields
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Any Remaining Available Free Agent O-Linemen Worth Signing for Bears?
As Spielberger noted, the pickings are slim when it comes to available offensive linemen. Ex-Browns center J.C. Tretter, 31, is probably the best available O-lineman on the market — but the Bears signed Patrick with the intention of having him play center, so it’s unlikely Tretter lands in the Windy City.
There’s right guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, 31, who is familiar with Poles after spending five years with the Kansas City Chiefs before opting out in 2020 and playing for the New York Jets in 2021. Poles also has familiarity with ex-Chiefs free agent left tackle Eric Fisher, also 31.
There’s also former Washington Commanders left guard Ereck Flowers, who was released in a cat sitting move and would likely be one of the more costly available free agents due to his age (27) and durability (he has never missed more than three games in a season during his seven-year career).
Then, there’s wide receiver to consider. Julio Jones, Jarvis Landry and Will Fuller remain the top available free agents at the position, but the Bears will likely look to the draft to address the need there.
Still, Poles admitted the team would keep adding talent, and considering the Bears haven’t made any huge moves yet, don’t be surprised if a trade and/or a flashier signing finally takes place in the coming weeks.
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