By Trading Smith, GM Ryan Poles Takes On Chicago Bears’ Future

Say this for first-year Bears general manager Ryan Poles and rookie coach Matt Eberflus: They do not travel the path of least resistance.

By trading away the core of a middling defense, they have given themselves the responsibility to replace those players, Roquan Smith and Robert Quinn, with younger team leaders who can help the Bears reach the postseason on a regular basis. Poles has stockpiled capital in the draft and free agency to build his kind of roster, not one dependent on inherited players, with the exception of quarterback Justin Fields.

It would have been easy to acquiesce on the contract demands of Smith, a 25-year-old linebacker in his prime, but Poles instead traded him to Baltimore for two draft picks and a clean slate, shortly after sending Quinn to Philadelphia for one pick and payroll flexibility.

Poles told Chicago reporters he expected to build around Smith after being hired to replace Ryan Pace last winter. But “a difference in value” led him to the decision that it was better to resolve the matter with a trade than let the issue linger while the team used its leverage — that is, the franchise tag — to hang onto a player who currently leads the NFL in tackles.

“The reality of it is that you have to ask yourself a question — are we ever going to find that middle ground?’’ Poles said in a news conference. “From our previous conversations, you gather that information and it felt like it was highly unlikely. So then you are able to take the opportunity to enhance your roster now. Are you OK with the chance that he walks away and we can’t use some of that to enhance our roster? That’s what it came down to, and I felt like we had to move forward at that time.”

It will likely be years before the Smith and Quinn trades can be judged. But Poles isn’t waiting around to see what players come his way.

A day after acquiring a second-round and a fifth-round pick from Baltimore (along with replacement linebacker A.J. Klein), Poles made a surprising addition. He beat the Green Bay Packers to super-sized wide receiver Chase Claypool, sending Pittsburgh the Bears’ original second-round pick in 2023.

Claypool, like Bears’ receiver Darnell Mooney, is a product of the 2020 draft in his third NFL season. Eberflus and his offensive coordinator, Luke Getsy, can play them together for the next season and a half, at least, while looking for upgrades.

The Claypool trade is at least in part a concession that this is a down period for wide receivers through the draft and free agency. A group of elite wide receivers signed extensions before this season, leaving Jakobi Meyers, Mecole Hardman, Allen Lazard and JuJu Smith-Schuster atop the list of possible free agents under consideration.

“You have to do a little bit of forecasting and looking down the road,” Poles said. “I just didn’t feel completely comfortable with (finding wide receivers). Not to say that there’s not good players there. I just didn’t (felt we needed to be) a little bit more aggressive at this point.”

Poles made his reputation as a master of the draft with the Kansas City Chiefs. After the Claypool trade, the Bears hold eight picks for the 2023 draft, including one each in the first three rounds and two in the fourth and fifth rounds.

It seems likely the Bears will focus on rebuilding the offensive line, with NorthwesternNWE
tackle Peter Skoronski, Ohio State tackle Paris Johnson Jr. and Penn State tackle Olu Fashanu candidates to be taken with a top-10 pick.

With Smith and Quinn off the books, the Bears are positioned to be the biggest spenders in free agency next March. The website Spotrac projects them to have almost $115 million in cap space while no one else has more than the New York Giants’ $71 million.

The Bears could take a run at Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs or another splashy name but more than likely will focus on offensive linemen like Orlando Brown and Elgton Jenkins or defensive line standouts like Marcus Davenport, Samson Ebukam or Jadeveon Clowney.

The Bears’ nine remaining games provide a chance for the 31-year-old Klein and the players who have been lined up behind Smith and Quinn to establish themselves. Trevis Gipson, a fifth-round pick in 2020, is likely to carry the most increased responsibility, with 2022 fifth-rounder Dominique Robinson not far behind.

But keep an eye out for No. 59, Kingsley Jonathan. The Nigerian-born rookie has played sparingly but is more highly graded by Pro Football Focus than fellow edge defenders Gipson and Robinson.

Fields says the 3-5 Bears aren’t waving a white flag, which is a good sign. But Poles and Eberflus are more focused on future success than trying to make the most of this season. It’s a refreshing change for a team that went 22-27 the last three seasons while going all in every season.