**(5) Poles acknowledged that it was difficult to say goodbye to veteran receiver DJ Moore, who was traded to the Bills.**
"DJ is one of my favorite players, will always be one of my favorite players," Poles said. "I knew that that was going to be tough for our organization. I've mentioned this before. My son is a passionate fan of the Chicago Bears. He was not very happy with me at all. I think it was cool DJ sent him a video telling him not to be mad at dad, \[because\] it's part of the business."
Other members of the 2025 Bears who have joined other teams include safeties Kevin Byard III (Patriots) and Jaquan Brisker (Steelers); receiver Olamide Zaccheaus (Falcons); linebacker Tremaine Edmunds (Giants); defensive end Dominique Robinson (Texans) and cornerback Nahshon Wright.
"I appreciate everything those guys that aren't here did for our organization to help us ascend and get better and get us on the doorstep of being a championship caliber team," Poles said.
**(6) The Bears signed Wills to create even more competition at left tackle.**
The 6-4, 207-pounder sat out all of last season while recovering from a knee injury. But he showed promise early in his career, serving as the Browns' starting left tackle his first three NFL seasons after being selected by Cleveland with the 10th pick in the first round of the 2020 draft out of Alabama.
The left tackle position is wide open after incumbent Ozzy Trapilo sustained a knee injury in the wild card playoff win over the Packers that is expected to sideline him for most of the 2026 season. Other candidates for the job include veterans Theo Benedet and Braxton Jones, who recently re-signed with the Bears.
"There's a lot going on at the left tackle position," Poles said. "You've got guys that have played the position this year in terms of Theo, Braxton had a crack at it early, was dealing with some things. I'd like to see him get back healthy to compete for that spot.
"With Jedrick, if you go back to early in his career before the injury, playing at a really high level, he's a guy that we want Dan and Kyle to lean into it. We have phenomenal offensive line coaches. Two really good ones that do a fantastic job developing players, so they're going to lean into Jedrick. Spend time with him. We think there's a connection there between our coaches and him. He's willing to put in the work.
"We have an unbelievable performance staff that's going to help him get his body right so he can compete at a high level, and like any position, we want competition. We want guys to rise to the level, and at some point when we get to September, someone's going to take that job. I'm excited to see how that works out."