Bear Digest

Questioning wisdom of a Bears bidding war for guard Will Fries

One Vikings beat reporter calls Will Fries the object of a coming bidding war between the Bears and Minnesota but is it wise when Chicago has so many needs in free agency?
Gene Chamberlain|
Colts guard Will Fries tangles with Jaguars defensive end Angelo Blackson. Fries is a top free agent but there's little to base his rise on beyond four strong games in 2024.
Colts guard Will Fries tangles with Jaguars defensive end Angelo Blackson. Fries is a top free agent but there's little to base his rise on beyond four strong games in 2024. | Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK

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Chicago Bears

The Sam Darnold situation in Minnesota could limit who the Bears can sign in free agency.

At least it's shaping up this way, according to a report by The Athletic's Vikings beat writer, Alec Lewis.  Lewis reported the Vikings were among teams who spoke at the NFL Scouting Combine to Trey Smith's agent to get a lay of the land. Lewis reports the Vikings concluded there is a real attempt going on by the Chiefs to keep Trey Smith with a long-term deal and are not looking to make a tag-and-trade deal.

So, the Vikings need the money they would have given to Darnold on a tag, more than $40 million, to pursue Colts free agent guard Will Fries. The interior of the Vikings offensive line is believed to be one of their main areas to improve.

As a result, Minnesota now will be well armed for what is expected to be a bidding war to get Fries, according to Lewis. And one of the teams his report mentions as an expected competitor for Fries is the Bears.

The Bears would be fighting the Vikings in a bidding war for a veteran guard and here's who they would be battling to sign:

  • A 6-foot-6, 305-pound guard who was a seventh-round draft pick out of Penn State and got into three games in 2021 without a start.
  • He has 31 starts in four years.
  • Last year he ascended by a huge amount in the eyes of Pro Football Focus. Fries had never achieved a PFF blocking grade higher than 61.2 and that one came in his only full season, 2023. Last year, though, he vaulted to 86.9 but there is a catch to that great improvement.
  • Fries' grade was achieved in only four-plus games, not a full season. He played only 268 snaps because he suffered a broken leg against Jacksonville.

A broken leg in Week 5 is nothing for the Bears or any other team to worry about, but basing a bidding war on a player who played at an elevated level for only 268 plays seems risky at best.

The lack of other top-level guards as long-range answers in free agency could help drive up the Fries asking price. The Vikings have less salary cap space available than the Bears, but not by much. Overthecap.com puts them at $60.5 million effective cap space and the Bears at $69.4 million effective cap space.

While the Bears are capable of winning such a bidding war, what's the point of it when the prize is a player with so many potential concerns? It's also easy to wonder if a player with flaws of this sort even suit Poles' use for free agency.

"You want to be selective in free agency because historically if you look at it you can learn from that," Poles said at the NFL combine. "But if there are certain players that hit all the check boxes you need, there is really no reason to hold back if you feel like you can be in those situations.”

Is this really that kind of player? Trey Smith would be, no doubt, but Fries credentials are definitely not on that level.

The other thing to consider is the Bears have more needs than Minnesota for that cap space. They need defensive line help besides the offensive lineman. They're also thought to be in the market for Falcons center Drew Dalman.

The end result could be that the best answer for the Bears would be both a short-term answer at guard and long-term one in the draft, such as going to 35-year-old Kevin Zeitler with another rookie or lower-priced veteran backing him up.

They'd also need to look for a rookie guard in the draft to fill the left guard position, possibly Will Campbell or Armand Membou after the way they tested at the combine.

It all would have been more simple for the Bears had Kansas City not found ways to retain Smith but this seems the reality of the situation according to this report.

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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.