BearFan PHX

So we just hung 38 on the SF D that only gave up 13 to the seahawks. And the 49ers only managed 3 points against Seattle's pass rush. And the moral of the story is that if we had a pass rush, we'd be Superbowl favorites.

I see your point. I think, based on nothing, that Poles is going to be very active on the DL. I remember last year saying we would put 4 new faces on the OL, and there was some kind of fight about it being only two, and Tevin would stay and all sorts of stuff, and Poles has shown that he isnt afriad to really move things around, so Im looking forward to what he does. Gonna be fun for sure.

thanks, I dunno if the over the cap numbers i was using included that or not. I really only put the three OL on the list because youd gain $10M trading them, not because i think we should. I just listed everyone with significant savings.

I just checked out the Bears Cap, and there are more names that come up that get you more than $10M in cap savings if you can trade them. These will be pre June 1st trades, so Im taking the lesser of the numbers. We can trade lots of people from our Defense if we replace them with good players, here's the cap space. Montez Sweat trade........... $16.9M Tremaine Edmunds trade.....$15M Jaylon Johnson trade ..........$7M Dayo Odeyingbo trade..........$11.5M Grady Jarrett trade...............$11M If you could trade all five, you'd have opened $62.4M in cap space, and you could replace the D line and more in free agency. Plus you'd end up with a bunch of draft picks to move up in the first round with. Some of them you can just cut if there is no interest, again pre June 1st numbers, so the lower ones Montez Sweat cut........... $6.9M. Tremaine Edmunds cut.....$15M <------------- same as trade Jaylon Johnson cut ..........$7M <------------- same as trade Dayo Odeyingbo cut........-$1.5M (no savings) Grady Jarrett cut..............-$2M (no savings) You can cut Edmunds and Sweat, and have $21.9M to spend on Sweats replacement And of course the trades on offense that make financial sense are: DJ Moore trade....................$16.5M Jackson, Thuney and Dalman each get about $10M in space with a trade, but you'd have to be sure about Newman or something Cole Kmet trade...................$8.4M I think from all these data points, you can say: Edmunds is gone one way or another Jaylon Johnson, DJ Moore are also probably on the trading block we would be thrilled to find a trade partner for, but probably wont be able to: Montez Sweat, Grady Jarrett, Dayo Odeyingbo You can start to see the different opportunities there are for Poles, and how he could move assets around to build up the defense. https://overthecap.com/salary-cap/chicago-bears

Yeah, I think if hes ready to go, Odunze should get some snaps this week. In the past, we have put recovering players on a limited snap count, and that makes sense here too. Football is in large part about momentum, so resting your starters isnt always the advantage it seems to be. My only point here is that there is a middle ground. You can play a guy some, but not all of the snaps. And if we get up more than 2 scores in the 4th qtr, then sure, Bagent can come in.

I agree entirely.

I think Poles and Johnson want this too - they are aiming at sustainable roster turnover. Eventually that will mostly come from the draft. But with Caleb on his rookie deal, now is the time to make a run, and acquiring a free agent pass rusher is a good idea. In fact, its a necessity. We've seen what it takes to win without a pass rush - last minute heroics that have been exciting to watch, but we need to be able to pressure opposing QBs. This offense is gonna cook with or without DJ Moore, but the defense is awful without a pass rush.

if we get a stud 3T, then maybe they will be the sack leader. But i cant imagine them not doing something in free agency first. And that doesnt mean they wont draft the very same position, but we arent gonna take a championship ready offense and make them wait for rookies to develop pass rush moves for 3 years. i think theyll make some moves.

The Bears 2026 sack leader is not currently on this roster.

i think this is another example of how stats don't always capture the full picture, and aren't (or shouldn't be) a goal in and of themselves. Good stats come with winning, and sometimes how you win makes the stats look lesser. Winning is the only stat that really matters.

Aikman wasnt a bad QB, but he doesnt make anyone's top 10 greatest either. Caleb has the possibility to be a top 10 QB. It's not guaranteed or anything, but he looks like he is on his way.

I understand why you're cautious or cynical, after all we've been through, i understand your reluctance to buy in. But this is different - Ben Johnson is clearly a different kind of coach, and the expectations for the offense are higher than we've seen here before. Caleb's already got some real highlight film throws that the others on the list dont have. And he only learned how to drop correctly from center since May or June. He's special avoiding pressure, and scrambling. He makes incredible off platform throws, and in the last couple weeks you can see his internal clock is calm. Hes operating within himself, and finding receivers on time, when they are open. I dont begrudge you your caution - I'm just saying, come on in - the water is warm - it's safe to risk your heart again! LOL If he keeps developing, there won't be much left to worry about. He's already right on the cusp of greatness.

He and Emmitt Smith both benefited from that Offensive Line. They were unusually stacked because of the Herschel Walker trade. Also, Aikman is going to regret getting into a tussle with Caleb.

for sure, just as Burden makes Moore expendable, for example. I just meant you're always trying to push assets into the future a year early to get the most return, and keep the pump primed.

Right, it's not my perfect example, but they had a great player and elected not to resign him to preserve cap space. Good teams do move on from good players for the purpose of cap management - I know you agree.