Money well spent? Bears GM Ryan Poles is counting on highest-paid players to make difference

Poles has been a frugal spender, but the players at the top of the payroll need to be major difference-makers. (Getty)

As expectations on the Bears shift during the second season of general manager Ryan Poles’ rebuild, there’s a relatively new emphasis on highly paid players playing up to their contracts.

Every team wants value, but last season the Bears weren’t going anywhere anyway. Did it matter much that defensive end Robert Quinn, with the highest salary-cap number on the team, underperformed? In a teardown year, not really.