By trading away quarterback Justin Fields to the Pittsburgh Steelers for basically nothing, Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles continues his horrible history of trades.
Well, over the weekend we got our answer as to what Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles will do with the top pick in the NFL Draft this April. He traded starting quarterback Justin Fields to the Pittsburgh Steelers for a paltry price. The Steelers will give up a 2025 (not 2024) sixth-round pick.
Some people might point out that the pick is conditional. That is true. The Bears could receive a fourth-round pick if Fields plays 51 percent of the plays in 2024. However, Pittsburgh picked up Russell Wilson earlier in the week. The odds of Fields playing all those snaps are little to none. If it does happen, that means Wilson got injured.
After hearing about how Fields could fetch two draft picks, one as high as a second-round pick, Poles did not receive a pick that could help in this year’s draft. He’s gone crazy trading away draft picks and now the team has just four, none past the fourth round. The Fields trade did nothing to recoup any of the lost picks in 2024.
Now we know that the Chicago Bears will use the number one pick (a pick that would have brought in a haul of more picks) on a quarterback. That quarterback is likely Caleb Williams. We also know that the Chicago Bears are likely out on any of the top three elite wide receiver prospects, Marvin Harrison Jr, Rome Odunze, or Malik Nabers.
This trade angered a lot of Chicago Bears fans. Yes, Fields was a popular player. However, it wasn’t just that. It’s the fact that this trade does absolutely nothing to help the team win games. A sixth-round pick probably won’t make an impact on the team. A draft pick in 2025 does nothing to help the team in 2024.
This trade continues a concerning trend for Poles. Now in his third year as general manager, he has not made many trades that have helped strengthen the roster. From the start, he has had trouble evaluating the price of his talent in trades.
Khalil Mack, 2022
It started early on when Poles became the Chicago Bears general manager. He traded All-Pro linebacker Khalil Mack. In return for Mack, Poles received a second-round pick in 2022 and a sixth-round pick in 2023 (Poles loves his sixth-round picks). He could have gotten more for Mack, but Poles was more interested in just trading him away to free up salary cap space. He used the second-round pick on Jaquan Brisker but never used the sixth-round pick.
Robert Quinn, 2022
Poles traded Robert Quinn to the Philadelphia Eagles for a 2023 fourth-round pick. He used that pick on wide receiver Tyler Scott. Scott had a non-descript rookie campaign. The only thing he did of note was run a bad route and failed to make the catch on a deep pass that would have won a game against the Detroit Lions. He was another player who did not elevate the Chicago Bears offense.
Roquan Smith, 2022
This one is a mixed bag. The good thing about the trade is that Poles did not spend $100 million on one player. He traded Roquan Smith and used $91 million on two top-ten linebackers, T.J. Edwards and Tremaine Edmunds. Those two solidified the Chicago Bears defense.
However, in return, the Bears received A.J. Klein, a 2023 second-round pick (Gervon Dexter), and a 2023 fifth-round pick, Noah Sewell. Klein was quickly released, Dexter looks to be a fixture as a starter, and Sewell did not have much of an impact.
Chase Claypool, 2022
This one went down in Chicago Bears infamy. This was one of the worst trades in team history. Chase Claypool was a malcontent in Pittsburgh. If a player cannot get along with Mike Tomlin, who is a player’s coach and is roundly loved around the league, that should be a huge red flag.
Poles thought things would change and felt he could help Fields. That did not work. He became a malcontent with the Chicago Bears and contributed nothing to the offense. This is part of the reason Fields is also gone. Ultimately, Poles traded Claypool and a 2025 seventh-round pick to the Miami Dolphins for a 2025 sixth-round pick.
Ryan Bates, 2024
This was a head-scratcher. Poles really likes Ryan Bates. He tried to sign him as a restricted free agent in 2022. The Buffalo Bills matched the offer, though. Two years later, Poles gets his man, giving up a fifth-round pick in the process.
Bates will compete for the starting center spot despite not starting there at all in 2023. He lost his starting job to a rookie and seemed to be a cut candidate for the Bills until Poles came around. He could have had him without wasting a valuable draft pick on him.
Keenan Allen, 2024
This one will get me in trouble with a lot of fans. This was a horrible, awful, ugly trade for the Chicago Bears. Yes, Keenan Allen is very good. He had 1,243 receiving yards and 7 touchdowns in 2023. However, he is not the profile of a player Poles usually goes after.
Allen will be 32 years old when the season begins. Poles has gone after younger players. Additionally, injuries have to be a concern. While he had a big year in 2023, he has missed 11 games in the past two seasons. Once a player starts to suffer injuries at age 30 they don’t get better.
Moreover, Allen’s contract is a $23.1 million salary cap hit. Poles has stayed away from overpaying for older players. He took in D.J. Moore‘s big contract but Moore was just 26 years old. He also had three years left on his contract. Allen, on the other hand, is in the final year of his deal.
That is another reason this was a bad deal. The Los Angeles Chargers went to Allen to try to restructure his contract. He refused and if the Rams could not find a trade partner they would release him. Again, Poles came in to prevent that. He used another valuable draft piece, a fourth-round pick.
Trading away that draft pick left Poles and the Chicago Bears with just four left in this year’s draft. As a result, he will have to trade most of those picks to acquire more. The most valuable asset now that the Bears will use the number one pick is the number nine pick.
The thought was that Poles would pick up one of the elite prospects. Picking up Allen is reminiscent of what other Chicago Bears general managers made in the past. They picked up a big-named player and distracted the fans from the fact that they wouldn’t pick up a better option.
Why would Poles pick up an aging wide receiver, taking up such a huge salary cap space (Poles spent 60 percent of his available salary cap money on Allen)? Allen was also mulling retirement so the odds are low that he returns in 2025. Instead of that, Poles could have gotten one of those elite receivers under a rookie contract for at least four seasons.
Poles has done a good job of using his draft picks effectively. However, his trade skills haven’t been as good. The Fields trade is just further evidence that he needs to be able to evaluate his players better. He either overvalues or undervalues them too much. We’ll see what happens and what else he does this offseason.
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