Chicago Bears' Worst Decision of NFL Offseason Could Derail Super Bowl Hopes

The Chicago Bears' offseason has been OK but not great. Here's the one decision that has no doubt soured things for general manager Ryan Poles and Co.

Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles. | USA TODAY Sports

The NFL offseason is the time for optimism, but we'd be lying if we said we're thrilled with the outcome of free agency and the draft for the Chicago Bears.

That's not to say we don't like the players the Bears have added in both areas because that's just not the case. Rather, it's what the Bears haven't done that has us feeling uneasy ahead of a campaign where Chicago has Super Bowl aspirations.

Let's dive into the details as we take a look at the Bears' worst decision of the 2026 offseason.

Bears' worst offseason decision

Chicago Bears defensive end Montez Sweat (98) and defensive tackle Gervon Dexter Sr. (99). | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The failure to adequately address the defensive line.

The Bears needed to make a significant addition to the interior and edge of the defensive line after a season in which Chicago had the seventh-fewest sacks, the second-worst pass-rush win rate, the seventh-worst run stop win rate and the No. 27 run defense.

While the Bears did add to the interior of the defensive line, they did not do so adequately.

On the inside, Chicago signed Neville Gallimore and Kentavius Street in free agency, but Gallimore and Street are both backups and neither one was any better against the run last season than Grady Jarrett and Gervon Dexter were.

Chicago also drafted Jordan van den Berg in the sixth round and then signed Jayden Loving as an undrafted free agent, but neither one is guaranteed to make the roster, let alone make the kind of impact the Bears need.

At edge rusher, Chicago re-signed Daniel Hardy... and that's it.

As head coach Ben Johnson said, the team intends on relying on Austin Booker, Dayo Odeyingbo and Shemar Turner to take a step forward with the assistance of better coaching.

"The combination of us being able to coach better and those guys taking the next step as part of this system, I think we have some pretty good pieces to work with," Johnson said after the draft.

The problem with that approach is Booker is unproven and Odeyingbo and Turner are both coming off serious injuries following a season in which they combined for one sack.

How the Bears didn't prioritize both spots along the defensive line when we've seen so many Super Bowl teams thrive with a strong front remains baffling.

Don't be surprised if we can point to the Bears' lack of action upfront as the thing that derailed their campaign once this upcoming season concludes.