LAKE FOREST, Ill. (WGN) — As Ben Johnson and Ryan Poles recapped a slew of offseason moves on day 1 of a new league year, fresh faces offered new energy—a feeling similar to recent years, but completely different from past moments that turned out to be fool’s gold.
Several variations of “The Chicago Bears are offseason champions!” have made a million rounds over social media, going back to 2023.
Two offseasons ago, Poles completed a trade with the Carolina Panthers so one-sided, it may as well have been considered highway robbery along the Dan Ryan. In exchange for the 2023 No. 1 overall pick, Chicago received star wide receiver DJ Moore, two first-round picks and two second-round picks.
The 2023 picks they acquired from Carolina turned into right tackle Darnell Wright and corner Tyrique Stevenson. Before the draft, the Bears added linebackers Tremaine Edmunds and TJ Edwards, offensive guard Nate Davis and defensive end DeMarcus Walker in free agency.
With a bona fide No. 1 receiver rostered, two new pieces added to the offensive line, and a stoutly rebuilt front seven on defense, Justin Fields was supposed to take the next step in his progression as Chicago’s franchise quarterback and help lead them back to their winning ways of old.
The Bears missed the playoffs and finished 7-10.
Last offseason, the second first-rounder Chicago acquired from the Panthers turned into the 2024 No. 1 overall pick, which paired with their own pick at No. 9, became Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze at the top of the NFL draft.
Alongside the acquisition of star wide receiver Keenan Allen and an exhaustive offensive coordinator search that landed on Shane Waldron, prospects for the Bears continued to look up. They reached a fever pitch when Chicago was shoved into the national spotlight, being featured on HBO’s Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Chicago Bears.
With cameras rolling, the world saw how Waldron was tasked with helping guide the young career of Williams—the newly anointed savior of Bears football—with a talented, veteran-heavy roster meant to buoy possible bumps in the road of a journey many thought could end with a playoff appearance.
Waldron was fired three weeks before head coach Matt Eberflus suffered the same fate, and Williams was sacked a league-high 68 times amid a 5-12 season that saw a tipped Hail Mary pass send Chicago spiraling toward ten straight losses.
The offseason highs were euphoric. The regular season lows were gut-wrenching. Such is life riding the Bears’ roller coaster.
As a football community, we’re back to that climactic moment when the roller coaster momentarily pauses at the mountaintop before plunging into the depths, a shot of lightning bolting through the whirling corkscrews that can characterize the chaos of how an NFL season plays out.
Will those rapid descents down metal hills through coiled curls be terrifying moments that leave fans begging to get off the ride that is Chicago football? Or for once, will they be moments of adrenaline and excitement that leave Bears faithful pining for one more ride once their coaster comes to a rest, and the safety guards come up?
This time around—with the offseason highs sitting atop their usual lofty heights—it feels different, as if there’s no boogeyman waiting around the corner to pull the rug out from under those who passionately root for “Da Bears.”
It was palpable from the first time Johnson walked into Halas Hall, to the point you didn’t need to be there to feel it.
Johnson, with his family in tow, arrived to a two-story standing ovation from Chicago’s football staff.
“This is going to be a challenge. I’m well aware of that. I know what this division is all about and this is exactly where we want to be,” Johnson said. “We’re going to go after this thing and it’s going to take all of us in this room. It’s going to take this locker room. [There’s] nothing more important than that locker room and us serving that locker room and those players.
“They need to understand that. They need to feel that from us every single day and if we do that, the wins are going to come. The playoffs are going to come.”
A sign that hints toward this offseason’s promise being more than fool’s gold is the presence of something missing from years past—leaders and difference-makers in the trenches on both sides of the football.
While Poles traded for Montez Sweat at the deadline during the 2023 NFL season, he was the lone impact veteran on either the offensive or defensive line in 2024, and it showed.
The Bears finished dead last in total yards on offense. They allowed Williams to be the most-sacked quarterback in football. The defense gave up 30-plus points in four of their last seven contests and didn’t have a single player register more than 5.5 sacks on the season.
Changes needed to happen in Chicago, and so they have.
On Wednesday, two trades and four free-agency signings became official. Drew Dalman, Jonah Jackson, Grady Jarrett, Dayo Odeyingbo, Durham Smythe and Joe Thuney were all announced as the newest members of the Bears.
Of everyone who was introduced on Wednesday, no one was more ready to flip the script than Jarrett, who felt the difference the moment he arrived at Halas Hall.
“To be able to walk in a building that’s associated with Walter Payton—I’ve been a two-time Walter Payton Man of the Year award nominee. I’ve met his family a couple of times,” Jarrett said. “So, the pride that I have in this place, I didn’t even know it really lived in me until I walked into the building, you know what I’m saying?
“…It’s gonna be competitive man. This is some new energy, new vibes in the building, and we want it all.”