Bears general manager Ryan Poles walks on the field before a game against the Commanders on Oct. 5, 2023, at FedEx Field.
(Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune/TNS)
The Chicago Bears’ 2023 season was a season that most Bears fans would like to forget. You can say the same thing about every Bears’ season after 2018, because that is the last time the Bears had an elite team. But the Bears’ luck may change this year after the moves they have made in this offseason.
The most promising move that the Bears made in the offseason was sending quarterback Justin Fields to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Fields has been the Bears’ quarterback for three total seasons and if you ask me, he has been on the Bears for three seasons too long.
Since Fields arrived in Chicago he has been nothing but a disappointment. Like many Bears’ fans I was high on Justin Fields, I even went to his first preseason game and got his first touchdown on video. I can remember me and my buddies after the game praising him like he was going to be an elite franchise quarterback for us; obviously we were very wrong.
Since he has been in the NFL, Fields has been a bad passing quarterback, but has been able to make some incredible plays with his legs. The Bears honestly would have been better off drafting him as a running back. Last year the Bears got him DJ Moore, an elite receiver, but he was still not able to emerge as an elite or even decent passing quarterback.
By getting rid of Justin Fields, it is all but confirmed that the Bears will be picking Caleb Williams with the first pick in the draft. Williams is one of the best quarterbacks to come out of college in quite some time, so this has Bears’ fans hopes sky high. The Bears have never had a truly elite quarterback so Williams could bring a new excitement to the franchise.
Other than Williams coming to the Bears, the front office has also made other great moves to improve upon a lackluster offense. The Bears picked up D’andre Swift who was a free agent from the Philadelphia Eagles. Swift was coming off a career year for the Eagles, rushing for 1,049 yards and five touchdowns, and being selected to his first Pro-Bowl.
After the 2022 season the Bears traded away elite running back David Montgomery. Since then the Bears’ backfield has not been able to find their footing, hopefully Swift will be able to improve our backfield.
Not only did the Bears improve upon their backfield, but they also added another elite weapon at receiver. This was well overdue as the Bears had one of the worst passing attacks in the league last year. Shortly after the Bears signed Swift, they traded for star receiver Keenan Allen from the Los Angeles Chargers; a fleece as the Bears only gave up a fourth round pick for him. Allen has been in the league since 2013 and since then has been selected to the Pro-Bowl six times.
Allen has already amassed over ten thousand yards in his career, and is showing no signs of stopping. In his tenth season at the age of 31 Allen had 1,243 yards and seven touchdowns. Although his age may worry some fans, Allen hopefully still has a few Pro-Bowl caliber seasons left in the tank.
Not only do the Bears have the first pick in the 2024 NFL draft but they also have the ninth pick. Hopefully the Bears use this pick on a receiver like Rome Odunze. Doing this would make the receiving core even more exclusive.
The Bears have made such good moves to improve their offense that it has overshadowed their moves to improve their defense. Last season the Bears’ defense started off very slow, but was able to pick up steam at the end of the year. The Bears lost Eddie Jackson in the offseason so they had to make some moves to recover from that.
First, the Bears signed All-Pro cornerback Jaylon Johnson to a contract worth $76 million over four years. Johnson fully deserves this contract as he has been playing at an elite level the past seasons and is about to enter his prime years.
To help Johnson out with receivers the Bears also went and signed free agent Kevin Byard from the Eagles. Byard has been an All-Pro safety twice in his career and has consistently played at an elite level. Byard is also 30 so his veteran presence will be able to help this Bears’ defense.
With Montez Sweat on the defensive line, the Bears now have three bonafide superstars on the defensive side of the football. At the end of last year the Bears were one of the best rushing defenses in the NFL and with the addition of Kevin Byard our defense should be terrorizing the NFL this upcoming season.
With all the great additions the Bears have made in the offseason it seems like the future is finally looking promising. The Bears have a great team on paper, so fans will have to wait patiently until next season to see if it all works out.