Three moves Bears should make before training camp starts originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
General manager Ryan Poles spent the offseason getting his grand Bears rebuild off the ground. He injected top-tier talent with wide receiver DJ Moore, linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, and first-round pick Darnell Wright.
Poles also made several additions that didn't garner the buzz of Moore or Edmunds but are no less important. The Bears signed linebacker TJ Edwards, defensive end DeMarcus Walker, tight end Robert Tonyan, and running back D'Onta Foreman. Add in the selections of defensive tackles Gervon Dexter Sr. and Zacch Pickens, cornerback Tyrique Stevenson, and running back Roschon Johnson, and the Bears' roster is filled with competence in areas it wasn't last season.
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While there's a surge of optimism around the 2023 Bears, there still is work to be done as we enter the second week of OTAs. The Bears have around $32 million left in salary cap space and still have a few critical needs to address.
No, DeAndre Hopkins isn't in the Bears' future, but there are three moves the Bears should make before training camp starts in late July.
Sign Chase Roullier
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The Bears bolstered their offensive line this offseason with the selection of Wright and the free-agent addition of right guard Nate Davis.
As of now, the plan is for Teven Jenkins to move from right guard to left and for Cody Whitehair to be the starting center. Lucas Patrick is slated to be the top backup at both guard and center.
The Bears' "best five" looks much better than last season, but they are one injury away from catastrophe. The Bears' lack of offensive line depth was apparent during the first OTA session the media attended, with Davis not in attendance. Patrick and second-year guard Ja'Tyre Carter rotated in at right guard with the first team.
It wasn't a pretty sight.
Given Whitehair's unique snap motion and Jenkins' inability to stay healthy, the Bears must add interior offensive line depth.
Roullier, 29, was recently released by the Washington Commanders with a post-June 1 designation. Roullier started all 46 games for the Commanders between 2018-2020. But he suffered a fractured fibula in Week 8 of the 2021 season and tore his MCL in Week 2 last year.
Roullier is a good wide-zone center who excels in pass protection. In 2,571 career pass-blocking snaps, Roullier has only given up 68 total pressures and five sacks.
Signing Roullier would allow the Bears to hold a competition on the interior between Jenkins, Whitehair, and Roullier, giving them more insurance for a potential injury. Having Whitehair or Jenkins as your sixth offensive lineman looks much better on paper than Patrick, who was ineffective last season, Carter, or Alex Leatherwood.
Sign Yannick Ngakoue and/or Dawuane Smoot
Edge rusher is the one area that Poles didn't adequately address during the offseason. Walker is a good addition, but the Bears need more pass rush help if they plan to consistently pressure the quarterback in 2023.
The good news is that there is an abundance of edge rushers still on the open market.
While I'm partial to Justin Houston, I'd bet the veteran latches onto a contender rather than an operation still on the ground floor of a rebuild. Same with Frank Clark.
RELATED: Schrock: Moore, Edmunds show why 2023 will be different for Bears
But Yannick Ngakoue and Dawuane Smoot would give the Bears precisely what their defense lacks: Fierce pass-rushers who can pin their ears back and get to the quarterback.
Smooth has notched at least 32 pressures and six sacks in each of the past three seasons. According to Pro Football Focus, Ngakoue has had at least eight sacks in every season of his career. That includes four seasons with double-digit sacks.
Poles said the Bears are looking at every avenue to address their pass-rush need. One-year deals for both Ngakoue and Smoot would allow the Bears only to rely on one of Trevis Gipson, Dominique Robinson, and Rasheem Green instead of all three.
Extend Cole Kmet
This is coming. The sooner it gets done, the better.
Poles and head coach Matt Eberflus arrived and stripped the roster down to the studs. That's to be expected by a new regime.
But eventually, they need to reward players for their production, buy-in, and the belief that they are part of the bigger picture.
They traded Roquan Smith, and David Montgomery left in free agency.
With Kmet, Jaylon Johnson, and Darnell Mooney all extension eligible, the new regime has to show the key players it inherited that their work will be rewarded.
Of the three extension-eligible players, Kmet will almost certainly be the first to put pen to paper. The Bears lauded his work during the 2022 season, praising him as everything they want these Bears to be about.
The Bears want to see Mooney, who had ankle surgery in November, run and cut before getting into contract talks. In February, Johnson told NBC Sports Chicago that he expected contract talks to heat up this summer. The star corner was not present at OTAs last week.
Getting Kmet locked up sends a positive message to the rest of the locker room, especially to the players left over from the Nagy-Pace regime that the Bears want to keep around for their planned ascent.
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