Bear Digest

Another missed opportunity for Ryan Poles on a larger scale

Analysis: The lack of an edge rusher who can step right in for injured Dayo Odeyingbo means the Bears missed on yet another trade opportunity.
Gene Chamberlain|
Dre'Mont Jones puts heat on Kyler Murray last season for the Seattle Seahawks.
Dre'Mont Jones puts heat on Kyler Murray last season for the Seattle Seahawks. | Michael Chow/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

Fans always want to see teams make trades to improve the roster as often as possible.

It's an easy demand when you don't have to worry about salary cap ramifications or what happens when a player doesn't fit a particular scheme.

A player who would have fit the Bears in both ways at a need position wound up traded to Baltimore and the social media buzz can barely be heard. It's because Dre'Mont Jones wasn't a big enough name but he should have been.

The Ravens gave up very little to Tennessee for Jones, relatively speaking. He cost them a fifth-round pick. The Bears could have easily afforded a fourth-round pick for a player who would have either started or rotated in with high potential for immediate productivity. After all, they spent a fourth-round pick this year on linebacker Ruben Hyppolite II and he has been a healthy scratch on the inactive list since Week 4.

When Jaelan Phillips was traded to the Eagles by Miami for a sixth-round pick it generated all kinds of noise about the Bears missing an opportunity.

The truth is Jones' trade was actually the one the Bears should have made. Phillips wasn't an ideal fit for their scheme but Jones easily could have been.

Phillips is more of a one-dimensional player. There is always an emphasis with the Bears coaching staff and with GM Ryan Poles on getting line talent capable of stopping both the run and also rushing the passer.

Phillips is graded 93rd of 114 edge rushers against the run. His run defense is a secondary thought. He's a good pass rusher, though.

The Eagles acquired Phillips because they've got the run defense handled with Jalen Carter.

Jones would have been a perfect fit for the Bears because he's basically what Dayo Odeyingbo was before tearing his Achilles, except more effective.

The Bears were rumored to covet Jones while he was in Seattle, if not when he was in Denver. He became a free agent and went to Seattle in 2023 before signing this year with Tennessee. He plays 3-technique defensive tackle at times in addition to edge, which is why he'd have been more valuable to them. Odeyingbo did the same, or at least he used to do it.

The Titans had Jones in the B gap or over tackle only 17 downs and  387 times outside over the first part of this season according to Pro Football Focus. In the past three years his defensive tackle participation gradually decreased from when he was in Denver and actually lined up more as a 3-technique or over tackle than he did at end.

Someone like this would have been so much more valuable to the Bears because it would have been like or even better than the player they lost for injury. It's hard to believe that without Dom Robinson because of a high ankle sprain, and with Shemar Turner and Odeyingbo on injured reserve, they wouldn't have been willing to cough up a fourth-round pick for a perfect fit at defensive end.

Apparently they weren't because he went for a fifth-round pick.

All this says is they better have another ideal acquisition in mind than merely trying to sign free agent Tanoh Kpassagnon back to their roster off of the Baltimore practice squad after they had cut him earlier.

Teams with plenty of options can afford to be choosy based on fit and other factors.

Teams with almost no edge players left need to get help and get good help when it's there.

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Fans always want to see teams make trades to improve the roster as often as possible.

It's an easy demand when you don't have to worry about salary cap ramifications or what happens when a player doesn't fit a particular scheme.

A player who would have fit the Bears in both ways at a need position wound up traded to Baltimore and the social media buzz can barely be heard. It's because Dre'Mont Jones wasn't a big enough name but he should have been.

The Ravens gave up very little to Tennessee for Jones, relatively speaking. He cost them a fifth-round pick. The Bears could have easily afforded a fourth-round pick for a player who would have either started or rotated in with high potential for immediate productivity. After all, they spent a fourth-round pick this year on linebacker Ruben Hyppolite II and he has been a healthy scratch on the inactive list since Week 4.

When Jaelan Phillips was traded to the Eagles by Miami for a sixth-round pick it generated all kinds of noise about the Bears missing an opportunity.

The truth is Jones' trade was actually the one the Bears should have made. Phillips wasn't an ideal fit for their scheme but Jones easily could have been.

Phillips is more of a one-dimensional player. There is always an emphasis with the Bears coaching staff and with GM Ryan Poles on getting line talent capable of stopping both the run and also rushing the passer.

Phillips is graded 93rd of 114 edge rushers against the run. His run defense is a secondary thought. He's a good pass rusher, though.

The Eagles acquired Phillips because they've got the run defense handled with Jalen Carter.

Jones would have been a perfect fit for the Bears because he's basically what Dayo Odeyingbo was before tearing his Achilles, except more effective.

The Bears were rumored to covet Jones while he was in Seattle, if not when he was in Denver. He became a free agent and went to Seattle in 2023 before signing this year with Tennessee. He plays 3-technique defensive tackle at times in addition to edge, which is why he'd have been more valuable to them. Odeyingbo did the same, or at least he used to do it.

The Titans had Jones in the B gap or over tackle only 17 downs and  387 times outside over the first part of this season according to Pro Football Focus. In the past three years his defensive tackle participation gradually decreased from when he was in Denver and actually lined up more as a 3-technique or over tackle than he did at end.

Someone like this would have been so much more valuable to the Bears because it would have been like or even better than the player they lost for injury. It's hard to believe that without Dom Robinson because of a high ankle sprain, and with Shemar Turner and Odeyingbo on injured reserve, they wouldn't have been willing to cough up a fourth-round pick for a perfect fit at defensive end.

Apparently they weren't because he went for a fifth-round pick.

All this says is they better have another ideal acquisition in mind than merely trying to sign free agent Tanoh Kpassagnon back to their roster off of the Baltimore practice squad after they had cut him earlier.

Teams with plenty of options can afford to be choosy based on fit and other factors.

Teams with almost no edge players left need to get help and get good help when it's there.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.