The Chicago Bears’ biggest roster hole is clear right now.
Chicago needs to improve the offensive line. The Bears brought in Caleb Williams to be the team’s quarterback of the future and he showed some flashes last year. While this is the case, he also was sacked 68 times for a loss of 466 yards.
If the Bears can bring a top-tier lineman to town and shore up the line overall, there’s no reason why they can’t take a big step forward in 2025. The Athletic’s Adam Jahns discussed the Bears’ offseason plan and floated Kansas City Chiefs star Trey Smith as a fit while noting that Bears general manager Ryan Poles was the Chiefs’ executive director of player personnel when Smith was drafted.
“The Bears are poised to take the next step,” Jahns said. “Poles obviously sees the opportunity ahead of him. The best free-agent offensive lineman this year — Kansas City Chiefs guard Trey Smith — is someone Poles knows very well. He was the Chiefs’ executive director of player personnel when Kansas City drafted Smith in the sixth round in 2021.
“‘I’m not going to get into players who aren’t on our roster right now,’ he said. ‘But I’m proud to be a part of that draft process.’ The risk in signing Smith is significantly less than adding Nate Davis, which remains one of the biggest blunders on Poles’ resume. This year, Poles can spend big on his offensive line and feel good about it.”
The Bears would be wise to bring Smith to town. He’s arguably the top free agent heading to the open market and is projected to land a four-year deal worth over $78 million.
The Bears can afford that and will be tied to him until he signs the dotted line with a team. The fit makes too much sense.