Bears' GM Ryan Poles, head coach Ben Johnson at NFL scouting combine with tough roster decisions to make
It's been just over a month since the Bears' turnaround season ended with a close divisional round playoff loss to the Los Angeles Rams. But General Manager Ryan Poles and head coach Ben Johnson are right back at it with this week's NFL scouting combine.
As Poles put it, the Bears come to the combine with more constraints than they've ever had in his tenure. They're further down in the draft at number 25 and currently over the salary cap, meaning some tough decisions have to be made, including with receiver DJ Moore, who is the team's highest-paid player.
"We want him here. We think highly of him. He's a great teammate. He's been productive pretty consistently over the last coouple years that he's been here, so I have nothing but great things to say about him. But this is the time now where we have to look at all the different scenarios and see what can make, what can allow us to put the best team out there," he said.
"I feel like the versatility is something that screams at you, the intelligence screams at you, the toughness, the durability," Johnson said. "When you talk about 17-plus game season, that's where a player like this is, is really valuable."
While Poles considers his best options to put a roster together for next season, he also has to have future seasons in mind, especially with Caleb Williams still on his rookie contract.
"I got a head coach that wants to sustain success and win for a long period of time," Poles said. "I have a quarterback who continues to progress, and he wants to be one of the best to ever do it and win a lot of championships. So, with that model, we have to be very conscious of how we put this team together, but we want to win championships now."
As far as the future of where the Bears will play their games, Poles admitted he does get asked about the team's stadium plans a lot.
"I have enough to worry about with the football team. Yes, texts, random calls of people who I don't know how they have my number to being in Grand Cayman and bumping up in the pool, and start telling me where they want the stadium. I gotta lot of faith in Kevin and George to get that done, and do what's best for the organization, our fan base," Poles said.
Poles said drafting at the back of the first round won't change their philosophy. It's about staying disciplined and taking the best player available, although he did note they're specifically looking to improve their speed on defense.