The Bears are in the midst of an important 2023 offseason, where second-year general manager Ryan Poles has a lot of work to do with this roster. The good news? He has plenty of resources to work with.
Chicago is slated to have roughly $99 million in salary cap space — the most in the NFL by a wide margin. The Bears also have the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft, which Poles could turn into additional draft capital given the quarterback-needy teams that could come calling.
But with so many roster holes to address, what will Poles be focusing on?
Poles made it clear that he intends to focus on the “premium positions” this offseason, which includes some of their biggest needs on the roster.
“It’s hard to identify that right now, but I always go back to the premium positions,” Poles said in his end-of-year press conference. “We’re always going to look at pass rushers, we’re going to look at offensive linemen, corners. So that’s where we’re always going to start and see can we play winning football with those premium positions, and then we move from that.”
Poles identified pass rusher, offensive linemen and cornerbacks as those premium positions that they’ll start with addressing — and all three are needs. Cornerback is a position that needs to be addressed, specifically with bringing in someone to fill whatever position Kyler Gordon won’t be occupying — be it on the outside or in the slot.
But it’s the trenches that remain the biggest concerns this offseason. The entire defensive line needs work, including at edge rusher. Chicago had the worst pass rush in the league last season, totaling just 20 sacks in 17 games. Safety Jaquan Brisker led the team in sacks, which says it all.
Meanwhile, the entire offensive line is under evaluation, where no one’s job is safe after Justin Fields was sacked a league-most 55 times last season. Teven Jenkins and Braxton Jones seem like they’ll factor into things, but there are glaring needs at tackle and center, as well as guard — depending on what happens with Cody Whitehair, who could be a cap casualty.
