Brad Biggs: Bears are open for business as GM Ryan Poles considers all options to restock the roster

INDIANAPOLIS — The Chicago Bears have hung out the “open for business” sign at the NFL scouting combine, and general manager Ryan Poles is the man fielding the calls. With the league year only days away and the club projecting to be a few million dollars above the 2025 salary cap, Poles and new head coach Ben Johnson are weighing every plausible path to solvency—up to and including parting with cornerstone veterans.

“We want to stay in that sweet spot where we have a maximum amount of flexibility,” Poles said inside the Indiana Convention Center, “not only for this year but three years down the road.”

The math is unforgiving. Simple restructures alone won’t bridge the gap, and pushing money into future years risks the kind of cap purgatory the organization is determined to avoid while quarterback Caleb Williams moves toward a second contract. That reality has turned the week into a rolling audition for any roster player another club might covet.

Backup quarterback Tyson Bagent, signed to an early extension last August, has already drawn trade feelers. Poles acknowledged the inquiries and left the door open, though Johnson’s fondness for the undrafted second-year pro could drive the asking price into the Day 2 draft range.

Wide receiver DJ Moore sits at the epicenter of the speculation. Trading the 27-year-old would carve out $16.5 million in immediate cap space, but the move is fraught: Moore is owed $24.5 million in 2025 and $15.5 million of his 2027 compensation becomes fully guaranteed on March 13. Poles reiterated the Bears’ desire to retain Moore yet conceded every scenario must be modeled.

“We think highly of him,” Poles said. “But this is the time now where we have to look at all the different scenarios to see what can allow us to put the best team out there.”

Linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, who carries a $15 million savings if released, has not been informed of a final decision. Tight end Cole Kmet and running back D’Andre Swift—both key cogs in last year’s NFC North title run—remain in the conversation as well. “I feel pretty good about the guys you just mentioned being here,” Poles said, “but again, there’s a lot more calls coming in.”

Johnson, hired after a historic offensive surge, stressed the delicate balance between preserving culture and creating liquidity. “This is one of the closest-knit groups I’ve ever been a part of,” he said. “We have to do what is best for the team, and as we stack back up the 90-man roster again, we’ve got numerous holes to fill.”

The coach pointed to Williams’ late-season leap—highlighting the quarterback’s improved vision in 7-on-7 periods—as evidence the franchise need not mortgage 2026 and beyond for a short-term push. Front-office staff, led by vice president of football administration Matt Feinstein, are constructing multi-year cap models to keep the window open when Williams’ inevitable extension arrives.

“Prepare for the unpredictable,” one longtime league observer cautioned, noting Johnson’s collaborative role in roster design. Johnson embraced the sentiment, adding that “off-the-wall ideas” are on the whiteboard in every meeting room.

For now, the directive is simple: if an offer can help the Bears now and later, Poles wants to hear it. “Have one of those off-the-wall ideas?” he said. “Try me. I’m willing to listen.”