Hub Arkush: Ryan Poles swings and misses at his first big free-agent signing

LAKE FOREST – No more than a few minutes before Larry Ogunjobi was scheduled to meet local media for the first time, Bears general manager Ryan Poles released a surprising statement.

Ogunjobi, the former Cincinnati Bengals defensive tackle who agreed this week to a three-year deal with the Bears worth up to $40.5 million, would not be signing the contract after he failed to pass his physical.

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There are reasons new general managers and head coaches almost always are extended a honeymoon period before they are judged on their performance.

The length of those honeymoons usually is dictated by the depths of the mess the new kid on the block inherited, and at the end of the day, Poles made the right call.

Eating a little crow now will be a much better outcome than letting Ogunjobi become his version of Pernell McPhee.

McPhee, Ryan Pace’s first big signing, had documented knee concerns. Everyone knew it, and McPhee never stayed healthy enough to deliver on his promise.

How did things go from there for Pace?

But it can’t be the outcome Poles envisioned or hoped for on the heels of trading away his best player in Khalil Mack, encouraging other quality assets, including Allen Robinson and James Daniels, to leave town and watching his own three-technique defensive tackle, Bilal Nichols, sign a relatively inexpensive deal in Las Vegas.

Poles’ honeymoon, if he needs it, probably just got a few days shorter.

You can’t know what a player’s physical will look like until he takes it, and we know that every free-agent deal – especially these “tampering” deals – are provisional on passing a physical.

Ogunjobi didn’t, and the Bears ran for the emergency exit.

The question that will be debated, however, is how much should Poles have known, and how thoroughly was Ogunjobi vetted?

We all know the young man missed the final game of the season and the Bengals’ playoff run to the Super Bowl because of a foot injury that required surgery less than eight weeks ago. Cincinnati also chose to re-sign his backup, B.J. Hill, for $3.5 million less a year, also on a three-year deal.

Had they focused on Ogunjobi’s health, might they have taken a closer look and made a stronger run at 49ers three-technique D.J. Jones, who was the closest comp to Ogunjobi ceiling-wise and who also got $3.5 million a year less from the Broncos than the Bears were prepared to pay Ogunjobi?

Woulda, shoulda, coulda doesn’t help. Again, now that there are health concerns, passing on Ogunjobi is the right decision.

When did throwing good money after shaky money and risking playing backups at one of the most important positions in Matt Eberflus’ Tampa 2 defense become a good idea?

But there is also potential collateral damage that could leave a mark.

This decision will put a permanent stamp on Ogunjobi’s career no matter what happens from here on. It almost certainly cost him millions of dollars, and you can bet the player and his agent will have less than positive things to say about it and to spread among their NFL colleagues.

Word came quickly that the Bears are adding Chargers three-technique Justin Jones to fill the void left by Ogunjobi, but let’s wait until he takes his physical.

Although Jones is two years younger and coming off his best season as a Charger, that was a low bar to clear, and he missed six games last year with a calf injury.

He is not the prospect Ogunjobi was.

What has become clear over the past few weeks is as loathe as he is to say it, Poles is undertaking a complete rebuild and couldn’t have planned to win many games this season anyway.

So relative to his eventual success, the Ogunjobi news isn’t earth shattering.

But as the main takeaway from Poles’ first big swing at improving his roster, it clearly sucked the air out of Halas Hall on Friday.

Once again Bears fans, patience will be key.