Bear Digest

Factors at work for filling biggest remaining Chicago Bears needs

The position the Bears need to fill the most still depends greatly on the player's specific role, if not the need to see padded practices at two positions.
Gene Chamberlain|
Caleb Williams is sacked by Za' Darius Smith last year against Detroit. Smith remains among the available edges players.
Caleb Williams is sacked by Za' Darius Smith last year against Detroit. Smith remains among the available edges players. | Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears depth appears solid at many positions, with the obvious exception of one place on either side of the line of scrimmage.

The extent to which the Bears need help at those varies greatly and, as such, they might need to sign added help at different times.

Unless GM Ryan Poles has already made up his mind he didn't like what he saw in OTAs, both running back and edge rusher look understaffed in different ways.

Some positions almost can't be analyzed until training camp because there's not enough contact work to assess in offseason.

"Some were able to achieve that over the course of the spring; others we really need pads on to really hammer that home," was how coach Ben Johnson put it.

Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer noted their needs in his latest mailbag when asked by "@Bears_Dubz" whether they might add help at both running back and edge rusher before the season starts.

"I think that’s all relative to what’s out there," Breer wrote. "So they’ll get a look at D’Andre Swift and Roschon Johnson at running back, and Montez Sweat and Dayo Odeyingbo (who plays some inside on passing downs) on the edges when the pads go on, and then maybe consider guys such as Jamaal Williams at running back or Za’Darius Smith or Matthew Judon as edge rushers."

All three names are nothing new for the Bears when it comes to the free agent market.

There is a dividing point here between the backs and the edge rushers. The first part of it is what often is the case in an open market like free agency. It's supply and demand. The other dividing point is purpose.

They need help at running back far less than edge because of how they would use an add-on back. As a result, they can afford to wait at this position until camp, and also to see how players handle padded practices.

Running back

Poles has said himself he would like to see how backs look when they put on pads. Especially critical here is how they look as pass blockers.

Nothing they did in the offseason affords them an opportunity to see how Kyle Monangai or Ian Wheeler or undrafted player Deion Hankins pick up blitzers in pass blocking situations. When pads go on, they can better understand this. D'Andre Swift, Roschon Johnson and Travis Homer have had enough reps in the past for the new coaches to know what's necessary. The help they need is a third or fourth back.

“We really want to get this new coaching staff with the players that we have to see if they believe that they can help us, But we’ll always keep our eye on the (free agent) short list to see if we need to bring someone in to create competition and raise the level of talent in that room,” was how Poles put it while speaking on ESPN AM-1000's Kap & J Hood.

They already got the players together with coaches but they didn't get to see yet how they respond to contact or especially pass blockers. This is still to be seen.

The supply of backs who can actually help is much smaller than what they could find in the edge rusher market. Williams is basically it. Other players are either too old, non-fits for the offense or wouldn't help as a pass blocker.

As for the market, there usually isn't a big demand for backs in their 30s and Williams is that age. Even backs who are only in backup roles find this to be the case. The backup running backs must be big in special teams to be active on Sundays and how active are 30-year-old backs in this regard.

Also, Johnson knows Williams already from his time starting in 2022 in Detroit's offense. They can afford to wait into camp to see if they really need to sign Williams.

Unless pass blocking at camp tells running backs coach Eric Bieniemy his backs can't be depended upon in games at all, the added back would most likely need to be someone who just takes up reps in camp.

A heavy load back who splits time with Swift isn't what they're going to get from a backfield player who shows up in training camp after everyone has worked all offseason.  They're looking for someone who might be insurance in case backup Roschon Johnson has an injury in camp.

As a result, they could even wait until the end of preseason and roster cuts to find someone appealing who is younger and would work as an insurance policy.

Defensive End

The need to see contact in camp here is also important but Poles has to know they need to add at least one player just for the sake of depth.

Last year they used Darrell Taylor for 375 reps, Jake Martin for 222, Austin Booker for 283 and Dominique Robinson for 84, in addition to lining up defensive tackle Gervon Dexter over tackle or outside it 144 times, according to Pro Football Focus. That's a lot of reps for edges besides what starters Sweat and DeMarcus Walker had.

Even if Booker and Robinson have improved, the need exsists for edge help anyway simply to take up reps. If those two have stepped up, then there is a real need to have someone else, anyway.

It's not like at running back, where there almost would need to be an injury for the added player to have a role.

So acting on either Smith or Judon as an addition would make sense before camp starts.

Smith seems like less of a realistic option. He just said at the June 9 BET Awards that he's still hopeful of rejoining Detroit.

The Bears are not outbidding Detroit for help when the Lions have $40 million in cap space left. The Bears have $14.7 million left.

The Bears have a wider variety of edge rushers to choose from still than they do a running back, and a more specific and dire need for the help, whether it comes from Judon, Smith, Clowney, Von Miller, Preston Smith, Carl Lawson or even former Saints edge Tanoh Kpassagnon

As a result, they'd be better off not waiting until training camp to bring in the edge help.

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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.