The Chicago Bears were certainly active on the free agent market over the past few days. They added two strong starters to their defense with safety Coby Bryant and linebacker Devin Bush. Neville Gallimore also shores up their defensive tackle spot. However, fans are up in arms over the one position general manager Ryan Poles hasn’t made a single addition to: edge rusher. It was viewed as a primary weakness when the team opened the offseason, and rather than do something, they’ve watched other teams take massive swings.
Carolina signed Jaelen Phillips to a four-year, $120 million deal
Baltimore signed Trey Hendrickson to a four-year, $112 million deal
Washington signed Odafe Oweh to a four-year, $100 million deal
Cincinnati signed Boye Mafe to a three-year, $60 million deal
Buffalo signed Bradley Chubb to a three-year, $43.5 million
Some of these teams were not expected to be big spenders this offseason, but took the swings anyway. All the while, Poles has remained silent. Cries of anger have grown louder the longer it’s gone on, leading some to believe the Bears are destined for a complete collapse this season. Yet history shows such moves don’t yield the results people hope for. Free agents who sign top-of-the-market deals rarely meet expectations, and looking back to 2010, none of them have led their teams to a championship.
Player Team Signed Seasons Sacks with Team Super Bowl Won?
Von Miller Bills (2022) 3 (2022–24) 14.0 No
Haason Reddick Eagles (2022) 2 (2022–23) 27.0 No
Trey Hendrickson Bengals (2021) 5 (2021–25) 68.5 No
Trey Flowers Lions (2019) 3 (2019–21) 10.5 No
Za’Darius Smith Packers (2019) 3 (2019–21) 26.0 No
Preston Smith Packers (2019) 6 (2019–24) 44.0 No
Olivier Vernon Giants (2016) 3 (2016–18) 22.0 No
Ndamukong Suh Dolphins (2015) 3 (2015–17) 15.5 No
Mario Williams Bills (2012) 4 (2012–15) 43.0 No
Julius Peppers Bears (2010) 4 (2010–13) 37.5 No
Ryan Poles understands this race is won through the draft.
If you look back at the most recent Super Bowl champions, most of them had a homegrown talent leading the team in sacks. Byron Murphy in Seattle, Josh Sweat in Philadelphia, Chris Jones in Kansas City, and Aaron Donald in Los Angeles. The last one to break that streak was Jason Pierre-Paul with the Buccaneers in 2020. While big signings may lead to big stats, they don’t move the needle nearly as much as fans want to believe.
Before you, the same is mostly true on the trade front as well. Over the same time span, there have been six blockbuster-caliber deals for a pass rusher. Only one resulted in a championship.
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Player Year Acquired By Trade Cost (to Former Team) Sacks with New Team Super Bowl Won?
Frank Clark 2019 Chiefs 2019 1st-round pick, 2020 2nd-round pick 23.5 Yes
Khalil Mack 2018 Bears Two 1st-round picks (2019, 2020), 3rd-round pick (2020) 36.0 No
DeForest Buckner 2020 Colts 2020 1st-round pick (No. 13 overall) 43 No
Bradley Chubb 2022 Dolphins 2023 1st-round pick, 2024 4th-round pick, RB Chase Edmonds 22.0 No
Montez Sweat 2023 Bears 2024 2nd-round pick 21.5 No
Chandler Jones 2016 Cardinals G Jonathan Cooper, 2016 2nd-round pick 71.5 No
Big splash moves are fun. They create buzz and do make teams better. Yet the results are the results. Few achieved their intended results of pushing a team towards a championship. That is why it is smarter for teams to keep their money and draft picks and remain focused on building from within. There is no harm in exploring outside options, but always with mindful resource management. Just like Ryan Poles has done.
The Bears are willing to gamble on the draft.
Are there risks? Of course. There’ is never any’s no telling how good players will be once they get to the NFL. Paying for veterans is often more of a sure thing, but everything comes with a cost. Ryan Poles knows that if he can hit on one or two defensive linemen in this draft, he’ll have them under control for four years at dirt cheap prices. Constantly trying to subsist on veterans is never a strategy that works for long. The Bears have seen this reality more than a few times over the past two decades.
It isn’t a coincidence that the only Super Bowl they won in 1985 was on the backs of a defensive line almost entirely built through the draft. Dan Hampton, William Perry, and Richard Dent were all draft choices. Sadly, that strategy hasn’t been working for a long time. The Bears have selected one 1st round defensive lineman in the past 12 years, and that wasn’t even a true lineman since Leonard Floyd was more of an outside linebacker. Poles has to rectify this, and seems intent on doing so.