Bears GM Ryan Poles faces tricky task filling three big holes

Coming off a rejuvenating 11-6 season, with a promising, if not proven, franchise quarterback in place and still on his rookie contract, the Bears go into the 2026 offseason with the wind at their back. Still, the offseason is a quandary for general manager Ryan Poles, who has three sizable holes to fill at positions he spent significant capital on just last season: Edge rusher, defensive tackle and left tackle.

You never have enough edge rushers, as the cliche goes, but defensive end probably should not be the Bears' biggest need a year after Poles signed Dayo Odeyingbo to a three-year, $48 million contract ($32 million guaranteed). But that's where they are after the Bears finished the 2025 season with 2024 fifth-round draft pick Austin Booker starting opposite Montez Sweat and 2022 fifth-round draft Dominique Robinson No. 3 in the rotation — and Odeyingbo on injured reserve after suffering a torn Achilles in Week 9 against the Bengals.

Poles splurged on Odeyingbo, at least in part because he expected Odeyingbo to blossom in a bigger role with the Bears than he had with the Colts. But Odeyingbo was a clear underachiever in his eight games even before the injury — one sack, four quarterback hits and 21 tackles. Now all bets are off with Odeyingbo coming off a major injury.

It's a tough spot for Poles, because it's difficult to address a need at pass rusher without thinking big and paying top-dollar — trading for Maxx Crosby, signing Trey Hendrickson or using a first-round draft pick for Miami's Akheem Mesidor or Texas A&M's Cashius Howell or any of the top pass rushers in the draft.

This is where Poles will earn the big bucks (or not) — his biggest decision of the offseason. With their arrow clearly pointing up heading into the 2026 season, the trick is for Poles to maximize the 2026 season without jeopardizing the big-picture goal of sustained success.

It's similar to 2018, when Ryan Pace traded for Raiders edge rusher Khalil Mack and made him the highest-paid defensive player in NFL history (six years, $141 million). Mack was an All-Pro and runner-up for Defensive Player of the Year in 2018 when the Bears improved from 5-11 in 2017 to 12-4 in Matt Nagy's first season. But he never again made that kind of impact — Mack was good but not great in his final three seasons in Chicago — and Nagy's Bears could not sustain that success.

It's a huge call for Poles, who has had more hits than misses in four years as the Bears' general manager, but hasn't really shown the intuition that has earned the trust that he'll get it right. He has one factor in his favor that Pace did not — with Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams in place, Poles can take some chances. Barring a major injury or a rash of injuries, the Bears' offense is going to be there — with a better chance to win shootouts than Nagy's team's ever did. On any close call, Poles is probably better off going for it than playing it safe.

The Bears' presumed need at defensive tackle might be more mystifying. The Bears already had defensive tackles Gervon Dexter and Andrew Billings in place when they signed Grady Jarrett (three years, $43.5 million with $28.5 million guaranteed) and drafted Shemar Turner in the second round (62nd overall) in 2025.

Jarrett made a few plays but overall was average (late-season feature stories that focused on his leadership were a sure-fire indicator that his actual play wasn't good enough). Turner played just five games because of injuries. He suffered an ankle on Day 1 of training camp and did not return until Week 3, then suffered a season-ending torn ACL in Week 8 against the Ravens. But he didn't make a big impact in those five games and even was moved to defensive end after the Week 5 bye — rarely a sign of success.

Jarrett will turn 33 in April. After the Falcons willingly let him go in free agency, it's more likely he's past his prime than in need of more time in Dennis Allen's defense. Turner is likely to be limited in the offseason following knee surgery and it remains to be seen if he'll be full-go when training camp opens in July. As is the case with Odeyingbo at end, filling the hole from within is dicey.

The Bears' need at left tackle heading into 2026 a year after they drafted Ozzy Trapilo in the second round (56th overall) might be the trickiest of all, because the Bears expect Trapilo to eventually return in 2026 after suffering a ruptured patellar tendon in the playoff game against the Packers, but don't know if he'll be the same player he was. Poles said he expects Trapilo to return late in the 2026 season "and be himself," but there's no certainty of that. History shows that 50 percent or more of players with patellar tendon injuries are never the same.

Left tackle was problematic from the start last season when Trapilo not only did not beat out incumbent starter Braxton Jones in training camp, but was moved to right tackle behind starter Darnell Wright to start the season. When Jones lost the starting job, he was replaced by 2025 undrafted free agent Theo Benedet, not Trapilo.

It wasn't until Benedet suffered a quad injury in Week 12 after starting six consecutive games at left tackle that Trapilo played left tackle. But Trapilo played well in seven starts (allowing only two sacks, according to Pro Football Focus) before the patellar tendon injury.

Benedet, who lost the job because of injury, would figure to be first in line to replace Trapilo. He did that in Week 18 against the Lions when Trapilo was sidelined with knee and quad injuries. But a rusty Benedet, in his first game action in seven weeks, struggled against Aidan Hutchinson in a 19-16 loss at Soldier Field. So when Trapilo suffered the patellar tendon injury, the Bears moved Joe Thuney to left tackle and started Jordan McFadden at left guard instead of turning to Benedet.

How Benedet became a liability off of one rusty start against the Lions — Trapilo was a day-of-the-game scratch — is a question that has yet to be answered. In Benedet's first seven starts (including six at left tackle) the Bears were 6-1 and ranked first in the NFL in rushing (161.6 yards per game), ninth in scoring (26 points per game), third in total yards (386 per game) and sixth in fewest sacks allowed (10).

It made sense to use the Thuney/McFadden maneuver against the Rams — the stakes were higher, Rams edge rusher Jared Verse was a potential game-wrecking threat, and Benedet had played just one game in the previous eight weeks. But the Bears don't seem to be enamored with Benedet even looking ahead to 2026, with an entire offseason program and training camp to prepare for the regular season. When Poles was asked about the left tackle situation at the scouting combine in Indianapolis last week, Benedet was lumped in with Jones (a free agent), 2024 third-round draft pick Kiran Amegadjie and options in free agency and the draft as potential replacements for Trapilo.

That's not an ideal scenario, but is looms as less problematic than the other top offseason needs, because it's on offense, where Johnson has a history of finding solutions and covering up weak spots. Like with everything else the Bears have going right now, Ben Johnson gives the Bears margin for error they haven't had in years, if not decades.

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