Xuenou > Sports > Best, worst offseason moves for Chicago Bears
Best, worst offseason moves for Chicago Bears
Best, worst offseason moves for Chicago Bears,Once owners of the first overall pick, the Chicago Bears have made plenty of roster tweaks since the end of the season.

Best, worst offseason moves for Chicago Bears

The 2023 NFL Draft will be held in Kansas City from April 27-29. Once owners of the first overall pick, the Chicago Bears have made plenty of roster tweaks since the end of the season. Here are the best and worst offseason moves they’ve made so far.

Best | Trading the No. 1 overall pick

General manager Ryan Poles turned the No. 1 overall pick into the No. 9 and 61 overall picks plus a first-round pick in 2024, a second-round pick in 2025 and star receiver D.J. Moore.

Poles recently stated he pulled the trigger on the trade to restock some of the draft capital depleted by his predecessor while also allowing the Bears to still select a premium player in the top 10. Adding Moore, who logged three straight 1,100-yard seasons, including two with 85 or more receptions, gives quarterback Justin Fields the legitimate No. 1 receiver he hasn’t had in either of his first two NFL seasons.

Best | Signing LB Tremaine Edmunds

There’s been a Roquan Smith-sized hole in the middle of Chicago’s defense since it traded the star linebacker to the Baltimore Ravens on Oct. 31. Though rookie Jack Sanborn filled in admirably (64 tackles, five tackles for loss, two sacks), the Bears need a true difference maker running the show.

Edmunds is only 24 and he already has five seasons under his belt with two Pro Bowl appearances. He’s totaled 100 or more tackles every season with a combined 32 tackles for loss, 35 passes defensed and two forced fumbles. Edmunds, who had the second-most run-stopping tackles (42) on the Bills in 2022, will bolster a Bears run defense that ranked near the bottom of the league.

Worst | Losing RB David Montgomery

Though he’s not a Pro Bowl-caliber running back by any means, Montgomery was a great backfield complement to Khalil Herbert; together the two combined for 1,533 yards and nine touchdowns. Montgomery was also an asset in the receiving game, adding 34 receptions (third-most on the team), 316 yards and a touchdown out of the backfield.

The 25-year-old was productive each of his four seasons, topping 800 rushing yards, five rushing touchdowns and 25 or more receptions every year. And to make matters worse, Chicago will play him twice a year now that he’s a member of NFC North rival Detroit.

Worst | Signing RB Travis Homer

D’Onta Foreman, who rushed for 914 yards and five touchdowns with the Carolina Panthers in 2022, could very well make up for Montgomery’s lost production. So, why spend $2 million on Homer, who’s never rushed for more than 177 yards or had more than 25 carries in any of his four years in the NFL? 

There were plenty of more talented and equally experienced free-agent running backs available who signed for similar money and would have made more sense for Chicago including James Robinson (1,000-yard season in 2020), Devin Singletary (800 or more yards and 12 total touchdowns the last two seasons), Damien Harris (929 yards, 15 touchdowns in 2021) and Ronald Jones (978 yards, seven touchdowns in 2020).