NFL News NFL News, Reports and Updates
Ryan Poles addresses Bears’ attempt to trade for Matthew Judon originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
Earlier this week, the Bears attempted to trade for Patriots edge rusher Matthew Judon in hopes of upgrading their pass rush, league sources confirmed to NBC Sports Chicago’s Josh Schrock.
Ultimately, the Patriots traded him to the Falcons, leaving the Bears empty-handed. During Saturday’s Bears-Bengals preseason game, general manager Ryan Poles reiterated the front office’s motivation to improve the roster in any way they can.
“We’re always looking across the league to find opportunities to make our team better,” Poles said on the FOX 32 broadcast. “Obviously, they got to make sense all the way around. When those doors open, we’re gonna go through them and have those conversations. But I’ll tell you this, I’ve been really excited about [Austin] Booker’s play. Dominique Robinson has started to develop.
“We got some good competition, and I think either way, we’re going to be all right. But again, as a front office, we’re going to just continue to look for those opportunities.”
It makes sense for the Bears to try to find an elite pass rusher to pair opposite Montez Sweat. Last season, Sweat trademarked “The ‘Tez Effect,” leading the team with six sacks, despite playing in just nine games. But another elite pass rusher would make life easier for Sweat and a more formidable pass rush.
The Bears haven’t had a strong pass-rushing attack under the Poles/Matt Eberflus era. They finished 31st in the league last season with a paltry 30 sacks; the Bears finished last in the league with 20 team sacks in 2022 — all evidence of their dire need for stronger trenches.
Poles and the Bears offered the Patriots their third-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft for Judon. But the Patriots took a third-round pick from the Falcons, evidence of New England’s confidence in the Bears owning a better regular season record than the Falcons.
Judon, 32, was experiencing contract disputes in New…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/ryan-poles-addresses-bears-attempt-194746379.html
Author : NBC Sports Chicago
Publish date : 2024-08-17 21:03:47
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
