Home-Grown Reward for Bears

Bears GM Ryan Poles appears to be setting the table for more contract extensions like the one given tight end Cole Kmet.

It's going to take some time and some metrics.

Poles on Thursday said he and the organization need to see wide receiver Darnell Mooney back at full speed with all certainty for an extension.

"When we kicked off training camp with Flus up here, we talked about everyone is at a different level of their rehab and getting to who they were prior to the injuries," Poles said. "We have a bunch of metrics we're going to use to make sure everyone is up to speed and exactly who they were, and then we'll take it from there."

It's not necessarily stats from games or even catches in practice, but something they're gauging from film at practices.

"Acceleration, deceleration, MPH, mileage, all that stuff," Poles said.

Mooney is in his fourth season but didn't finish last year due to an ankle injury against the Jets in Week 12. He is practicing, and although there has been talk about keeping a close eye on his number of play reps because of the long rehab that cost him all off-season, he hasn't really missed time at all during the first two practices at training camp.

The contract extension for cornerback Jalen Johnson sounds a bit more complex, less definite or even uncertain. At least he isn't holding out or holding in like Roquan Smith did in 2022 before being traded, and this apparently counts for something.

Johnson has been manning the right cornerback spot he always does and in some defensive situations he has lined up over DJ Moore all over the field, which means he can be at left cornerback or the slot.

"He's out at camp working hard," Poles said. "We have a process of how we're going to do things and when we get to that. Again, I'll update (media) as we go in terms of when things get done."

It doesn't sound like the adversarial relationship has developed like Smith had with Poles before they had what amounted to a standoff.

"I'd say like the relationship's good," Poles said. "He's out showing that he can perform at a high level and becoming the player that he wants to be and improve. So that's all I can really say about that."

Johnson has one career interception but frequently covers the opposition's best receiver all over the formation, and the goal in that case is disrupt and prevent a completion more than it is picking off a pass.

Another problem is he has missed 11 games in three seasons due to injury. Last year a broken finger ended his season with three games left after he also had what was termed as an injury to his side, either ribs or an oblique. He missed six total games in 2022.

The $50 million deal with Kmet was the first extension Poles has had for one of this year's starter. They did sign Equanimeous St. Brown to a second Bears contract, but he isn't a starter now and also was only in Chicago on a one-year deal after the Packers hadn't signed him back. He wasn't a home-grown player.

Kmet is and it makes a difference to players on a roster when they see players being drafted and then taken care of—particularly a player who had been drafted by a previous regime. Kmet was drafted by Ryan Pace in Round 2 in 2020, like Johnson.

"I think, one, it's good to get an extension done when you have a good young player like Cole," Poles said. "I do think it energizes the locker room, especially this being my first extension it sends a good message. I think everyone knows me, what I stand for, what I believe in in terms of taking care of your players.

"But there is always action that needs to come behind words. So I do think it helps the locker room see that 'all right, if I continue to do what I'm doing, there's a chance I can be in that mix.' I think that's always positive."

Poles wouldn't mention the player but said he had a word with one about this topic after Thursday's practice.

"It was cool," Poles said. "I had a player come up to me after practice today and said, hey, you sent a ton of energy through the locker room because you guys are taking care of the guys in there.

"And it was really cool. So, yeah."

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