The Chicago Bears are in the midst of their most exciting offseason in the last decade — and that’s coming off a 3-14 season.
There’s plenty of optimism surrounding this team heading into the 2023 season, whether that’s because of the current players on the roster or an abundance of resources that should help add more talent.
In honor of Valentine’s Day, here are some things to love about the Bears heading into the 2023 offseason.
1
Justin Fields
Even the silly trade speculation involving Justin Fields isn’t enough to hamper the excitement that the Bears have their most exciting quarterback in a long, long time. Fields had a breakout year in his second season — and that was without an adequate roster around him. He emerged as one of the NFL’s most exciting players, where he put the league on notice with his elite athleticism and speed that made defenders look silly on a weekly basis. While Fields needs to improve as a passer, his ceiling remains incredibly high. Assuming Chicago surrounds him with talent on the offensive line and at wide receiver, there’s no telling what he can accomplish in Year 3. And the exciting thing is we haven’t seen Fields’ full potential yet.
2
The No. 1 pick in the NFL draft
The 2022 season couldn’t have panned out better for the Bears. Sure, they lost 14 games. Yes, their last win came in October. But Fields showed his potential as Chicago’s franchise quarterback and there’s some good, young talent in place. Oh, and most importantly, the Bears lucked into the first overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft. Considering Chicago doesn’t need a quarterback, the Bears hold a lot of leverage and GM Ryan Poles will look to recoup a ton of value for that top selection from a quarterback-needy team. There’s even a scenario where Chicago could trade back twice and still land a generational talent on defense. It’s not often a team has the No. 1 pick and there’s still so much optimism for the immediate future.
3
An estimated $99 million in salary cap space
While Poles will look to build through the NFL draft, there’s plenty of veteran talent set to hit the free agent market. Not only do the Bears control the draft, they also control free agency with the most salary cap space in the NFL. Chicago is projected to have roughly $99 million in cap space — the next closest team is $56 million. The Bears have a number of needs to address this offseason, and they have the money to focus on some of those in free agency. While Poles explained he won’t go crazy in free agency, he has the funds to lure a couple of big-name free agents to Chicago.
4
Talented young core
The Bears had one of the worst rosters in the NFL last year. But they also have some core pieces in place. We already discussed Fields, who is the most important, but there are a number of others. That starts with four players who are eligible for contract extensions heading into their fourth year — 2020 draftees tight end Cole Kmet, cornerback Jaylon Johnson and receivers Darnell Mooney and Chase Claypool. While the former three have already proven themselves in Chicago, Claypool joined the team in November and still has to prove himself before Poles even considers inking him to an extension. There’s plenty of other talent on the roster, including safety Eddie Jackson, right guard Teven Jenkins and running back Khalil Herbert — on top of last year’s rookies.
5
Promising rookie class
Poles explained the importance of building this roster through the NFL draft, and he’s certainly off to an encouraging start with his first rookie class. The most impactful rookies this season were second-round safety Jaquan Brisker, second-round cornerback Kyler Gordon and fifth-round left tackle Braxton Jones. All three started from Day 1 and showed promise during their rookie seasons. Also, third-round wideout Velus Jones Jr. and fifth-round defensive end Dominique Robinson showed promise as they head into a pivotal offseason. Then there’s undrafted free agency, where he found linebacker Jack Sanborn, who established himself as a starter in just six starts as a rookie. Other notable undrafted rookies that made an impact include cornerbacks Jaylon Jones and Josh Blackwell. With an important offseason ahead, all eyes are on these young players to see how they improve between Years 1 and 2.
6
Ryan Poles and Matt Eberflus
While it’s still too early to evaluate them, there’s reasons to be excited about the potential of general manager Ryan Poles and head coach Matt Eberflus heading into their second seasons. Starting with Poles, he laid the groundwork — rather, tore it down to build it up — for how he hopes to assemble his roster. Which is how the team now has nearly $100 million in salary cap space for 2023. With Eberflus, he’s established the kind of culture that will translate to winning. After all, look at what Eberflus was able to get out of a young, talent deficient roster last season. The Bears competed with some of the best teams in the NFL, and seven of their losses were by one score. Now, imagine what this team can accomplish when they get the right pieces in place. When all is said and done, Poles and/or Eberflus might not work out. But, for now, it certainly feels like this team is headed in the right direction with them at the helm.
