The Windy City franchise is spending big.
The Chicago Bears are beefing up its trenches with big names and big additions to help support and protect quarterback Caleb Williams.
Chicago’s franchise quarterback spent most of his rookie season picking himself up off the turf.
The first overall pick was sacked a league-leading 68 times.
Houston’s C.J. Stroud was second at 52.
The Bears had no choice to revamp its offensive line, or risk the development of Williams going the wrong way.
Less than a full day into the legal tempering window of free agency, general manager Ryan Poles wasn’t messing around.
He has transformed both sides of the ball on the line of scrimmage.
Poles signed former Atlanta Falcons center Drew Dalman to a three-year, $42 million contract, with $28 million of it guaranteed.
He acquired All-Pro guard Joe Thuney from the Kansas City Chiefs for a 2026 fourth-round pick and gave the Los Angeles Rams a 2025 sixth-round pick for Jonah Jackson.
That is a massive upgrade and overhaul to the Bears interior offensive line that was a major weakness last season.
On top of Dalman’s $42 million, the Bears take on Thuney’s $16 million salary (one year) and Jackson’s $34.5 million salary (two years).
As much as Poles poured into the offensive line, he made sure not to neglect the defensive side of the ball.
The Bears signed defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo and defensive tackle Grady Jarrett to massive deals.
Odeyingbo received a three-years, $48 million contract, with $32 million guaranteed
Jarrett signed a three-year, $43.5 million contract with $28.5 million guaranteed.
Between the three new big men on the offensive side of the ball and the two additions on the defensive line, that’s $184 million in total.
Nearly $200 million spent up front to fix the trenches.
Again, Poles wasn’t messing around.
Chicago’s moves caught the eyes of the rest of the league, as they raved the franchise for its moves.
NFL Network and Fox’s Peter Schrager was ready to declare them winners of the offseason.
‘Bears my early pick for team that has improved the most this off-season, Shrager posted on X.
‘Grady Jarrett and Joe Thuney are very much needed veterans who still have plenty left in the tank.’
Andrew Siciliano shared a similar sentiment.
‘Bears have a very clear mission. Build the OL and DL,’ Siciliano said.
No one wins games in March.
The Bears themselves have been applauded for having great offseasons before, only to fail to show up in the regular season.
There’s still a long way to go between now and September, but having already addressed some of the issues that plagued Williams and the entire team last season, is a good start.
Stay up to date with the latest from across the NFL via our talkSPORT Facebook page, and subscribe to our Endzone YouTube channel for news, view and exclusive interviews as we build up to the NFL Draft in April
