Bears Labeled a 'Success-Builder' After First Wave of Free Agency

After a first week of free agency that was defined by careful spending, the Bears look like a team that's eyeing a long run of success.

Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Unlike the 2025 offseason, the Chicago Bears did not exactly dazzle the NFL with a series of big moves at the start of free agency this year. In fact, one of the main takeaways from the Bears' first wave of free agency was how general manager Ryan Poles has seemingly learned not to panic and overpay in free agency. Instead, he mostly filled out the bottom of the depth chart with role players, such as his two-year agreement with former Colts defensive tackle Neville Gallimore, or brought back some cheap yet dependable players from last year, like the re-signing of linebacker D'Marco Jackson to a two-year deal.

It's these kinds of 'meat-and-potatoes' moves that led Jourdan Rodrigue, a senior NFL writer for The Athletic, to label the Bears a 'success builder'. On Monday, Rodrigue published her latest 2026 NFL free agency analysis, grouping each NFL team into categories based on their approach to the start of free agency. For the Bears, their careful moves landed them in the 'success builder' category, defined broadly as teams that overachieved in 2025, mostly thanks to a great young quarterback, but are taking small steps towards building a true contender.

"So far, good job by the Bears," Rodrigue writes, "who made moves to shore up their interior defensive line and add to a secondary that also lost five players, and did what they could to mitigate the damage along an offensive line dealing with injury questions at tackle and the surprise retirement of starting center Drew Dalman. Meat-and-potatoes moves for a team that could have been high on its own supply, but stayed disciplined and self-aware and basically set up its intentions for the draft: offensive and interior defensive linemen, and pass rushers."

David Banks-Imagn Images

Ryan Poles has learned from his own mistakes and the mistakes of his predecessor

This slow-moving path to building a Super Bowl-caliber roster shows how Ryan Poles has grown on the job. He's been impatient before, dealing out premium picks for veteran players that were seen as potential shortcuts, such as the disastrous trade for Chase Claypool at the 2022 trade deadline. He also likely remembers how former Bears general manager Ryan Pace's blockbuster deal for Khalil Mack blew up in his face, which partly explains why he didn't go all-in for a Maxx Crosby trade.

There's never a shortcut to winning a Super Bowl, and Ryan Poles knows that. From his time in Kansas City, he watched as the team was carefully built into a perennial playoff contender before Patrick Mahomes' arrival carried them into a dynasty. The Chiefs did not cut corners, and Poles seems determined to follow a similar route with the Bears.

Of course, the Bears hope they already have their version of Patrick Mahomes in Caleb Williams, and now they just need to surround him with enough talent that he doesn't have to put on his Superman cape every game. A blockbuster trade for Maxx Crosby would have been exciting, but it would have put an unnecessary ticking clock on this team to win right away. They're not like the 2021 LA Rams, who were just a Matthew Stafford trade away from a Super Bowl title, after all.

The Bottom Line

Bears fans have been waiting for decades to see their team win another Super Bowl, and their impatience is understandable. But Poles is operating on his own timeline. The 'success builder' label is well-earned and will likely prove to be prescient. Led by a budding young superstar quarterback in Caleb Williams, the Bears are building a team capable of sustained success, one that will hopefully eclipse even the legendary '85 Bears team. That's going to take time, but the payout should make it all worthwhile.

David Banks-Imagn Images

Sign Up For the Bears Daily Digest - OnSI’s Free Chicago Bears Newsletter