With the 2024 NFL offseason coming to as Training Camp draws near, it’s time to take a deeper dive into the crucial offseason that could define the Chicago Bears’ future.
With the bulk of the 2024 NFL offseason in the rear-view mirror, there’s no better time to review a crucial period in Chicago Bears’ history. Heading into March, many believed this was a “make or break” time for third-year general manager Ryan Poles. Much of that sentiment was formed around his decision at the quarterback position. Even so, this roster still had plenty of holes, but Chicago was armed with a pair of Top 10 picks and loads of cap space.
Since training camp is just under one month away, this feels like the perfect opportunity to take a step back and recognize the hard work put in by Chicago’s front office. Will it be enough to catapult them into the NFC playoff conversation in 2024? Only time will tell.
1. The Quarterback decision
Looking for a headline for the Bears’ 2024 offseason? Look no further than the most important position in the sport. For many, they saw the writing on the wall the minute Chicago locked up the No. 1 overall pick. For others, it took a few months for reality to set in. The gap between November and mid-March was one of the more divided moments in recent memory for this fan base.
In the end, a clear decision was made, and most fans were able to immediately move on to another new beginning at the quarterback position. Justin Fields was a fan favorite. His highlights will forever stay in the memories of most fans. For a long period, he appeared to be the answer to an age-long conundrum that this franchise has found itself in. Unfortunately, a lot of this decision was circumstantial. Had Chicago only held the No. 9 overall selection in April, none of this would have been a possibility. At worst, they would be looking at a quarterback competition between someone like J.J. McCarthy and Fields. More realistically, they would have similarly built their offseason plans and continued to add help on both sides of the ball.
In some ways, Poles took a leap of faith. In others, it was a no-brainer decision. The third-year general manager has done more than enough to justify his job status, while the head coach has much more of a microscope on him. Having the No. 1 overall pick gifted to you is something teams don’t often receive. Turning the page on Fields and taking the next step in an extensive rebuild with Poles’ quarterback was a needed step into the future.
Only time will tell how this decision plays out, but as of late June, Fields is not expected to receive many early-season snaps in Pittsburgh, while Caleb Williams has already been named the unquestioned Week 1 starter.
2. Rebuilding the coaching staff
While the quarterback conversation was the most riveting topic in Chicago for many months, the anxiety and anticipation for a new offensive coordinator riddled the last half of the season and first few days of the offseason once fans came to terms with Matt Eberflus staying for a third year.
Luke Getsy—despite his initial billing as an up-and-coming offensive mind—did not pan out in Chicago. His conservative approach irritated many fans, and his play-calling never matured. He was yet another name in a long list of offensive minds who had come to Chicago and failed. It was clear that the Bears could not simply run it back with all three of Eberflus, Fields, and Getsy. Luckily for fans, the front office knew this to be a reality, as well.
A few short days after their disappointing Week 18 loss in Green Bay, reports emerged that Eberflus would return as the team’s head coach. Shortly after that, reports came flooding in that the majority of the team’s offensive coaching staff had been let go. That included Getsy and wide receivers coach Tyke Tolbert. Before the Bears could get a jump start on a crucial decision at the quarterback position, they had to square away the coaches who would be responsible for the offensive development.
On top of that, they still needed to hire a new defensive coordinator. Considering how many head coaching vacancies there were and that this new defensive coordinator would not be calling plays, it served as a tough task to make the right hire.
Offensive coordinator was the primary focus from the jump. In total, the team brought in nine candidates and requested a 10th in Kellen Moore, who was denied by the Chargers. Shane Waldron was the first candidate to be interviewed and ultimately ended up with the job. The only reason he became available was because of Seattle parting ways with former head coach Pete Carroll.
During the interview process, the Bears brought in multiple intriguing names, including Kliff Kingsbury, who coached Williams at USC in 2023. Up-and-coming names like Klint Kubiak, Zac Robinson, and Liam Coen were interviewed, as were names like Greg Roman and Greg Olson. In the end, it always felt like Waldron’s job to lose. Once they filled out their offensive coaching staff with Waldron, Kerry Joseph, Chris Beatty, and Thomas Brown, they shifted their focus to the defensive side of the ball.
Chicago brought in a few promising names for interviews but came away impressed with Eric Washington. It’s hard to blame them. His work as the defensive line coach in Buffalo was hard to ignore. The good news for Washington was that he didn’t have to do a lot of work filling the remaining spots on his staff, since most were heldovers from the previous year. Once the two coordinators and their assistants were filled out, it was time for them to take a deeper dive into the offseason decisions ahead.
3. A conservative, yet productive free agency period
Count me as one of the many who expected Poles to make a big-money move or two during the free agency. No, that doesn’t count the acquisition of Keenan Allen. I had expected Poles to spend big on a center and a defensive lineman. Neither happened but they still came away as a vastly improved team ahead of April’s draft.
Free agency started with a few solid moves, including a trade for Ryan Bates a week before the start of the new league year, signing Kevin Byard a day before the negotiation period began, and quickly coming to terms with running back D’Andre Swift on Monday afternoon. Many believed this was the start of a very active few days but quickly came to learn that Poles’ approach would be as measured as he had said all along.
Gerald Everett and Coleman Shelton followed shortly after but many fans were left underwhelmed before a late-evening bomb from respected insider Jay Glazer a day after the official start of the new league year. Glazer broke the news that the Bears had just traded for Allen. This move came as a surprise to many. They gave up one of their few Day 3 draft picks and were taking on a one-year, $23.1 million contract. While most fans had their eyes on the likes of Mike Williams, the Bears’ front office was eyeing a different Los Angeles Chargers receiver to pair with their new receivers coach.
In many ways, the Allen move was the cherry on top of a relatively subdued free agency period. Although it’s a one-year move in the present, the addition of Allen immediately gave their rookie quarterback another top-tier receiver to throw the ball to. More than anything, the Allen addition was a sign that Poles wants to do things differently with a rookie quarterback under center this time around. His approach also gives Chicago plenty of flexibility shortly, whether that’s additional moves before the season, at the trade deadline, or adding to a Super Bowl window-caliber roster in 2025 or 2026.
4. Handling a unique draft class
The good news of the Bears’ 2024 draft class: They had a pair of Top 10 picks. The bad news is that they only had four total picks going into draft weekend and none after No. 122. While it’s always helpful to have selections at No. 1 and No. 9 overall, not having much else after can complicate the situation, Especially with defined needs left going into the draft.
Despite such a unique situation, Poles was able to come out of that weekend with five selections and addressed quite a few needs. Those included quarterback, receiver, offensive line, punter, and edge rusher. Now, it would be foolish to believe all five of their selections will pan out, but if three of the five picks turn into plus-players, that’s considered a “winning” draft class, regardless of how many selections a team holds.
In all reality, this class will be defined by one player and one player alone. Caleb Williams. If he turns into a Top 5-7 quarterback, this franchise is changed for the foreseeable future. If they can hit on both Williams and Rome Odunze: That’s a potential Hall of Fame duo for the next decade. Punter Tory Taylor feels like a good bet to be at least above average, which leaves the futures of Yale offensive tackle Kiran Amegadje and defensive end Austin Booker. Drafting offensive tackles can be tricky, so expecting Amegadje as a plus-starter might be a little too optimistic. The same argument could be made for Booker, but his length and traits might give him the edge if you told me only one of the two pan out. Even so, having cheap depth at premium positions is necessary for any contending team with hopes of keeping things headed in the right direction.
Even better news for Chicago: They hold four picks in the first three rounds of next year’s draft. There are two ways of looking at this, though. 1. They could be primed to use all four picks in their respective (unknown) slots. 2. They could use another second-round pick for a third straight year to fill a need at the deadline.
5. Addressing remaining needs
This is the one part of the offseason that can still be labeled “TBD.” Sure, they recently re-signed 40-year-old tight end Marcedes Lewis for his 17th season but needs along the defensive line are still glaring. An argument could be made for the offensive line as well.
More realistically, taking a deeper dive into the team’s cap situation can provide a loose guideline for expectations leading up to Week 1. Once Williams and Odunze sign their rookie contracts, Chicago will have around $13.76 million in cap fluidity. After taking in-season spending and a projected $3-4 million in charges for the practice squad, their true cap number is closer to $6 million.
That could easily land them an affordable veteran edge rushing option like Yannick Ngakoue, Carl Lawson, or Emmanuel Ogbah. The interior defensive line is without any clear upgrade options, but center is another area where things could get interesting. They did add two options at center in Bates and Shelton, but with recent reports of Connor Williams being ready for Week 1, a true upgrade option has emerged. This would push both Bates and Shelton into reserve roles, but it’s worth noting that neither Teven Jenkins nor Nate Davis have proven to be capable of staying healthy for all 17 games.
It’s possible that Chicago could choose to add an affordable veteran edge rusher and then look to re-visit more options around the trade deadline with one of their two second-round selections. In that case, they would likely need to clear more cap space, but that could be easily accomplished with a simple restructure of two from one of their bigger contracts.
In total, the Bears’ cap situation remains highly fluid. That should only mean good things for any potential big moves down the line, but it also does not guarantee they capitalized on one during 2024.
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