There are many reasons to be excited about the 2024 Chicago Bears, but one is continuity. Chicago returned 10 of the꧂ir 11 starters on defense this season. When th♓e Bears opened the 2023 season at Soldier Field against the Green Bay Packers, there were 25 new players on the initial 53-man roster. Today, that number is nearly half as many.
The most significant overhaul for the Bears came at wide receiver this season, upgrading a room that once hoped Darnell Mooney would become a number one receiver to one that features DJ Moore (in his second season here), Keenan Allen, and Rome Odunze in two years has been one of Ryan Poles’ most significant accomplishments as GM.
The wide receiver position has long been a hot topic, but Poles’ patience has paid off. “I think the big thing is there’s a level of patience there,” . Poles could have forced the issue during his first draft in Chicago, but he went with Jaquan Brisker and Kyler Gordon at the top of their draft that year, landing two starters on what looks like one of the best secondaries in football this season. Poles now has revamped both groups, mainly due to his patience.
“We’re in this sec♒ond phase of things,” Poles said. “Rea🅺lly, patience, letting the board talk to us, and then being opportunistic with the trade (for Allen), drafting Rome, there’s a lot of cool things that happened. And we used every different kind of way to acquire that talent, which is great.”
Ryan Poles Has Revamped Most of the Chicago Bears Roster in Short Order
Ryan Poles’ first roster in Chicago featured 15 rookies. That number shrunk to 10 last season and just five this season, with two of those rookies being top-ten selections expected to help change the fortunes of this franchise. As Poles has said previously, this roster would be challenging to make.
“This year, by far, from the first two years, was the most challenging time whittling this thing down to 53,” Poles said. “We had some really good discussions, a lot of back and forth, constantly talking about worrying about today but also looking into the future.
“I think the other thing that I really learned this year is when you’re intentional in bringing in the right type of people, when you invest in relationships, you invest time and bonding in creating this group and this culture, it makes cut down day extremely hard and emotional because you care about the guys and you want to see them be successful, but you know at the end of the day there’s business decisions that have to happen.”
Ryan Poles now has a roster with continuity, one that has gotten slightly older, with the average age being 26.36 years old, compared to last season when the initial 53 had an average age of 25.7 years old, the 10th youngest group in the league. That’s a good thing. That means the roster is evolving, and so is the rebuild Poles started when he arrived in Chicago.
When Poles arrived, there were 14 players on the roster that his predecessor had selected. This year, there are only four. Cole Kmet, Jaylon Johnson, Khalil Herbert, and Teven Jenkins are the last remaining players from the previous regime, and except for Herbert, those names will be around for a while. Kmet and Johnson already have an extension, and Jenkins figures to be next in line for a new deal if he can remain healthy this season. As it goes with running backs these days, Herbert will likely be a free agent after this season, but he’s been a solid contributor throughout his time in Chicago.
However, the other 10 players drafted in the previous regime and inherited by Ryan Poles are gone. That list includes quarterback Justin Fields, who is now a backup in Pittsburgh. Poles made it clear that he would tear down the roster he inherited when he arrived, and he’s done just that in short order. The roster is healthier now than it has been in many years.
The offensive line is another place where Poles has created continuity and depth. When he arrived, he and Matt Eberflus used nine different starting combinations up front in their first season in Chicago. The Bears utilized eight last season, most of the combinations resulting from three different starters at right guard, three at center, and two at left guard and tackle. This season, the Bears’ offensive line figures to be much more stable, and even if there are injuries, as we saw in the preseason, the depth in the room is comforting.
“This is probably the best depth I’ve had,” Poles said last week of the offensive line. He also said that one of the offensive linemen he cut last week said it was one of the deepest rooms he’d ever been a part of. That’s an impressive compliment for Poles and company.
MORE: Ryan Pꦉoles Speaks Glowingly About the C🌊hicago Bears Offensive Line
Entering the third season of Ryan Poles’ era, the Bears take the field with the most promising quarterback prospect in the franchise’s history under center and revamped wide receiver, tight end, offensive line, secondary, and linebacker groups. The defensive line is the only group still a work in progress. However, as we saw with the overhaul of the other position groups, Poles is resolute in his ability to wait out the market and make the right move.
While the Chicago Bears’ rebuild has been quick compared to other recent efforts around the league, it’s not due to a lack of patience or calculated measures by the architects of the rebuild. For Ryan Poles and the Bears, patience has been a virtue.
