The Chicago Bears kicked off the 2026 league year with a free agency recap press conference on Thursday. General Manager Ryan Pole addressed the media, covering the player extensions, signings, and trades the team made over the past week that became official today.
One of the biggest moves the Bears made in the offseason so far was trading wide receiver DJ Moore to the Buffalo Bills.
“DJ was one of my favorite players and will always be one of my favorite players,” Poles said. “I knew that move was going to be tough for this organization.”
Poles explained the thought process behind the trade, noting that the talented — but crowded — wide receiver room played a significant role in the team moving on from Moore:
“There’s a financial piece of it, but you’re also looking at the room. When you have Rome Odunze, and how talented he is…you look at what Luther did. Again, that’s why you follow the draft board. I did not expect Luther Burden to be where he was. He showed up and showed some big-time flashes.”
Poles said the team is emphasizing speed and explosiveness with the players it’s bringing in, targeting guys who bring leadership and a passion for the game.
He discussed some of the recent additions the Bears made to the team, including their new safety Coby Bryant.
And as many fans wanted to see the Bears make a push for Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby, Poles confirmed that they did check into the situation.
“We’re always going to monitor every situation,” Poles said. “Sometimes it works with what you’ve got going on in terms of resources; sometimes it doesn’t. We were involved. We checked into it. We looked to see if it made sense, had some dialogue, but I’ll just leave it at that.”
Poles and co. continue to think about the long-term future of the team, trying to strike a balance between improving the roster while still making smart cap decisions.
“We want to sustain success,” Poles said. “We talk about that a lot. In order to do that, we have to be very calculated with the moves we make.
What other moves do you want to see the Bears make this offseason?