Hub Arkush: Call it what you wish, but Bears clearly are undertaking rebuild

To date, Bears general manager Ryan Poles has refused to use the word “rebuild.”

He’s been clear in describing his style as focused, organized, steady, patient, etc. Poles certainly has acted accordingly over the first two days of the NFL’s “legal tampering period,” leading to the beginning of free agency at 3 p.m. Wednesday.

[ Live updates: Bears 2022 free agency news and notes ]

But as of my deadline for this column, with plenty of potential impact talent still available at the NFL’s version of its annual flea market, it still is foggy at best what Poles’ goals are for his first season at the helm of the Bears.

His first two significant moves as the new sheriff in town have been to trade his best player, Khalil Mack, for a limited return but significant cap savings in 2023 and 2024. The Bears also released nose tackle Eddie Goldman, getting nothing but more cap space this year, which Poles doesn’t seem terribly interested in spending right now.

If he retains none of his own free agents, he’ll have 10 starting jobs he needs bodies for.

One appears to be filled with the only surprise of the week so far, defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi, the 6-foot-4, 310-pound three-technique he signed away from the AFC champion Cincinnati Bengals.

Ogunjobi fills a huge need for the Bears as they switch from the 3–4 to a 4–3 defense. They had no three-techniques on the roster, and their best hope was to re-sign Bilal Nichols, who appears made for the position but never has played it.

In head coach Matt Eberflus’ Tampa 2 version of the 4-3, the three-technique is one of, if not the most critical spot on the depth chart, and Ogunjobi is the most accomplished and one of the most disruptive of the “young” – under 30 – three-techniques available.

It’s easy to see why that’s the one relatively big-dollar deal Poles has made, and it eliminates the need to re-sign Nichols.

One down and nine to go.

Poles also is looking for two linebackers to start next to Roquan Smith. He appears to hope he found one in Nicholas Morrow, whom he plucked off the Raiders’ roster.

Morrow is interesting. He’s an athlete who runs like the wind and was productive at times for the Raiders, starting 29 games between 2017 and 2020 before missing all of last season with a bum ankle.

But at 6-0, 220 pounds, he’s even more undersized than Smith, and it’s hard to envision where each will play if they’re both starting.

Could Poles be picturing Morrow at safety next to Eddie Jackson? Probably not, but he’s obviously a low-risk experiment on a one-year deal.

With guard James Daniels – one of Poles’ only free agents to have already signed elsewhere (and for considerably less than we might have expected) – Poles did fill that spot, grabbing Lucas Patrick from the Packers in perhaps the most puzzling move of all.

Daniels was the team’s best offensive lineman. If Patrick is as good, which most of the experts I’ve talked to doubt, he certainly doesn’t have Daniels’ ceiling. He’s 5 years older.

But he was a lot cheaper than Daniels, getting only two years and only $4 million guaranteed.

Running back Darrynton Evans is an interesting waiver claim and likely to be an effective third running back behind David Montgomery and Khalil Herbert. Evans brings some return ability, which may or may not soften the blow of Jakeem Grant taking a three-year deal in Cleveland, but that is literally it.

It feels like we should take Poles at his word – that the Bears probably are not making any big moves this year. Nobody is saying that’s a bad thing.

Rebuild is not a dirty word, and maybe it’s what the Bears should do.

But the one thing they have to do is find out whether Justin Fields can be their franchise quarterback. How they’re going to do that with one NFL receiver on the roster and a bad offensive line that may have just gotten weaker while another year of Fields’ rookie deal drifts away is a more than fair question.

Patience is smart and a great asset. I’m glad Poles obviously has it.

But regardless of what they chose to call it, this obviously is a rebuild, and patience is something the rest of us are going to have to get better at.

• Hub Arkush is the Senior Bears Analyst for Shaw Media and ShawLocal.com.