Offseason and Free Agency

Jonah Jackson

Joe Thuney

and now Drew Dalman

 

Yay!

 

Dalman comes in at 3 years $42mil $28mil gtd.

VERY happy with this. C has few good options in the draft and really not a lot more in FA. It had the potential to be a huge problem position next season, they really needed to land this and they did. $14mil per, for this guy, it is prob an overpay, but its not a FA crazy type overpay. It came in right on the button of predicted numbers, if it was up at $18per that would be tough, but its not.

Jenkins - Shelton - Nate Davis --------> Thuney - Dalman - Jackson. Huge upgrade.

 

Extremely happy. He's only 26. You have your center for the next 8 years if things go right.

The interior of the line is light years better than what it has been for quite a while.

 

Bears sign some DL from the packers, Jonathan Ford. Never heard of him, and a 338 lb NT who only played in 4 games last year is probably why. Going to guess him being 26 has everything to do with it.

They also resigned Bill Murray, Daniel Hardy, and the LB Amen O.

I lowkey like the blocking TE Durham Smythe. Cole Kmet gets paid way too goddamn much to do that. Kindly use him as a pass catcher.

 

Dayo Odeyingbo gets 3/48 mil with 32 mil guaranteed as an edge rusher. Really nice 2023, but he regressed in 2024.

 

I don't hate this deal as long as he's seen as a rotational player and not an every down one. Which I gotta assume he is.

 

Also signing DT Grady Jarrett.

 

Let me just say i LOVE the emphasis on the trenches here. Exactly what needed to happen out the gate so thats good.

But WTF is going on with these D moves. Odeyingbo is getting a hell of a lot of money for a DE coming off a 3sack season. Obvs they hope to get the 2023 version but last season happened and it should be reflected in the contract, which it isnt. $16mil is an overpay. I can see this move trying to be justified by talking about run D and being able to rush from DT on pure passing downs and not with numbers or him being in the backfield constantly. Hopefully im wrong cos there is potential there.

Grady Jarrett, is just an awful signing, hate it. I've been a fan in the past, he was a really good player 4-5years ago. But that was a long time, and a serious season ending knee in 2023, ago. Jarrett was not that guy in 2024. This dude looks a year or two from being out the league tbh. He's gonna be 32 in a month and you give him 3years @ $15mil per???! Get the F outta here. Poles moved incredibly quickly on this since Jarrett just got cut, clearly this move wasn't planned or well considered. An outrageous long shot given the money involved imo. Dude should've been getting 5-6mil this season.

The Bears have managed to spend a hell of a lot of money on D today but none of it affects their draft plans in the slightest imo, in which case its hard to consider this money well spent.

 

My positions are pretty simple:

Any GM that puts his #1 pick - the best chance at a modern franchise QB the team has ever seen - in the position he did for his rookie year should be tried for criminal negligence, and removed of his position immediately. I don't give a fuck who he signs this year, Poles has shown me he doesn't have the decison making / talent evaluation skills to successfully build an NFL roster.

Aside from that, yes, getting real bodies to play up front is beyond necessary. I'm happy about it, regardless of whether it's the literal last moment Poles could do it without losing his job, because the alternative is the team still being really, really bad. We've been asking for it for years, and we're actually getting some real, concerted attention to the trenches. It feels surreal that the team is finally doing something about it, even if it is pulling a "Dream Team" and spending horrendous amounts of money on veteran players.

That said, this stinks of "Panic throw money at positions your GM can't evaluate / build", and odds are that there are going to be some stinkers in the bunch. If we can get a legit C, G, and a DL out of it, that's going to be a massive improvement. The only saving grace to the contract sizes for these guys (massive deals) is that Caleb is on a rookie contract for a few more years, so a good GM can spend that time drafting young talent at those spots for when the aged, overpaid vets' deals expire / can be moved.

At the end of the day, actual investments in the OL and DL is something I can't be mad about, after so many years of completely ignoring them. I wish the team (Poles) had invested earlier so they didn't have to spend as heavily, but this is the type of thing that might actually save Caleb Williams' career, and maybe make this team good. So, better late than never, and I'm eager to see what Johnson does with it.

 

That was rambling and restating the same thing several times. Typed a few sentences, chased the toddler down, typed a few sentences, fixed what the toddler broke... Might've said the same thing four times in that last post. My bad!

 

Agree. Don't like this signing for the amount for Dayo. He's depth, and a clear run stopping liability, but he's a decent situational pass rusher who you like because he's 25. You just cut Demarcus Walker who made 7 mil to do the same thing, and now Poles has more than doubled what he spent for Walker on the next 25 year old who didn't merit a 2nd contract from the team who drafted him in the 2nd round. Upside on a 25 year old who had a stellar 2023 season? Sure, but woof this one's rich, especially seeing Josh Sweat get 3 million more per year at 19 AAV.

Have to believe this Ryan Poles falling in love with a guy, the way Cunningham portrayed on Hard Knocks--and he had to go get him.

I don't hate this move, but Poles' decisions on the DL are baffling. If 'young/upside' was what you wanted on the DL, why not go overpay Milton Williams, who's 26? Jarrett I'm 'eh' on for depth, for reasons mentioned, but he's also one of the top DT available, so you have to pay for this for a guy at this stage of his career is a body. This move makes more sense if Andrew Billings doesn't have a good prognosis from his injury.

I hope these aren't the last of the prime resources in the trenches. This is the time of year we have to reject the idea of thinking its smart to draft a RB or a S or some vanity pick like an off-ball LB or a TE in round 1, let alone in the top 10, despite the meatballs' desire to BPA.

 

Agreed, and I think the big difference between the O and D moves is Ben Johnson. Johnson knows who he wants from what's available, clearly sees the line as an issue. I am optimistic about it. To bear-man's point from the other thread, there's still a lot on defense to be concerned about, especially with the trenches.

This all reeks of picking Jeanty now, but I also hope not. The draft is theoretically deep in DT/DE, and there's an outside chance you can take a top T. Most mocks only have 1 QB taken early, gotta hope someone loses their mind and jumps on Sanders. The underwear olympics don't seem to have vaulted anyone up the charts at QB like years past.

 

I am okay with the amount on Dayo's contract. The price on edge rushers is just going up and up. He actually got market value and probably low end of market value for his role. That's just where the market has gone for this position.

I think the Jarrett signing could pay off in that he still has plenty of gas in the tank and will give you two really good years. Billings was really productive for us but I don't know what he has left and how healthy he will be entering the season. No doub tthey paid more for him but someone was gonna snatch him up and there was no chance of a bargain deal there.

I do think what Poles did yesterday opens the door to take Jeanty if he's there at #10. I hope he goes another route. I wish he would take the best OT on the board and use both picks in round two on the defensive line. But I fear that isn't what's going to happen.

 

The best teams build their trenches through the draft, giving yourself cornerstones for years to come. We've seen it time and time again. If Poles takes a RB at #10, after just paying huge guaranteed money to a RB as his priority free agent signing the year before - while ignoring the offensive line that he now has to spend big on - he should be fired on the spot. But I've said that about damn near everything he's done and he's still here, so... he'll probably draft a RB at #10 and tell us they couldn't believe he fell to them, etc.

Alright, pessimism aside, it's nice to know that with both Ben Johnson and an improved interior OL, Caleb might be set up for a decent season of growth, here. If DJ Moore shows up to actually play ball and not throw tantrums, the offense might actually look competent next year. Given that Braxton Jones is due a payday as a starting LT, I would really love it if they drafted his replacement (and not from Yale, thank you), but we'll see what happens.

 

I didt know the Bears had free agency?

 

K

 

Those new meds seem to be pretty damn effective.

 

Hahahaaa

 

All the teams do. It's good you can finally admit your ignorance.