Chicago Bears spring storylines: Ryan Poles’ patient approach, David Montgomery’s exit and DeMarcus Walker’s newfound purpose

The Chicago Bears roster is changing by the day. In an offseason defined by turnover, the Bears have added 10 players this month via trade or free agency.

More new faces will be on the way as the latter waves of free agency hit the shore. The Bears also have 10 picks in next month’s draft and will continue to mold their team under the guidance of general manager Ryan Poles.

As Poles crosses the bridge from free agency to the draft, here are three notable storylines to keep tabs on.

‘We can’t fix everything’

Two weeks before the free-agent market opened, Ryan Poles was asked for a realistic vision of what he could accomplish this spring.

“You always have to be on your toes to adapt and adjust,” Poles said during the scouting combine in Indianapolis. “But at the end of the day, I’ll make it simple: (The goal) is to improve our football team and get as many guys on our roster who can help us do what we are trying to do — which is win a lot of games.”

On Thursday morning, as the Bears prepared to introduce seven new players during a long day of orientation at Halas Hall, Poles repeated one of the key mantras for this offseason.

“We can’t fix everything,” he said.

Sure, that urge is there, pushing from beneath the surface to persuade Poles to speed up this return to relevance with big swings and full-on aggression. But the 37-year-old general manager has suppressed such impulses with his dedication to properly and methodically building the roster back up over multiple years and with calculated assertiveness.

During the NFL’s version of March madness, the Bears have added four defensive players, six offensive veterans and three draft picks to their collection. Predictably, all that newness has been enthusiastically embraced and celebrated as a sign the team is on its way.

And with a few more waves of free agency ahead plus the draft, Poles has ample opportunity to fortify his roster this spring, propelling the Bears toward a 2023 season in which significant improvement will be expected.

Internally, the front-office leaders and coaching staff agree that more playmakers are needed, particularly those who can excel in pressure-packed moments late in close games.

Poles often uses the phrase “move the needle,” an expression that highlights his desire to find contributors who will help the Bears fill the gas tank for an eventual championship drive.

But a sober look at the current roster provides a strong indication of how far from championship contention the team is.

Remember Bill Polian’s benchmark that a team needs 10 to 12 blue-chip players to be considered one of the league’s best? Well, the Bears have only one player — safety Eddie Jackson — who has earned All-Pro recognition in his career. Just two others have been Pro Bowl selections: newly signed linebacker Tremaine Edmunds and eighth-year offensive lineman Cody Whitehair.

Where the Bears sit now, that won’t move the needle much.

Furthermore, a surface-level review of the current depth leaves a lot to be desired, particularly in the trenches. Here’s your list of offensive linemen currently under contract: Whitehair, Braxton Jones, Nate Davis, Teven Jenkins, Larry Borom, Lucas Patrick, Dieter Eiselen, Alex Leatherwood, Ja’Tyre Carter, Doug Kramer and Kellen Diesch.

And here’s the current pool of pass rushers and defensive tackles: Trevis Gipson, Dominique Robinson, Justin Jones, Andrew Billings, DeMarcus Walker, Andrew Brown, Gerri Green, Jalyn Holmes and Donovan Jeter.

More talent is needed. Much more.

More depth is needed. Much more.

That’s not a criticism of how Poles has handled his business this month. The rebuilding process always was going to require multiple successful offseasons.

Poles didn’t storm into March hellbent on buying headlines with a reckless desire to claim the 2023 offseason crown. At all times, he has kept an eye on a bigger picture with an understanding this isn’t a “splurge and surge” year at Halas Hall. Not yet. Not for a bottom-of-the-league team that’s hardly in “win now” mode.

With that in mind, Poles has consistently emphasized his plan to remain patient and disciplined with a firm grasp on the value the Bears have attached to free agents and draft prospects.

Still, an appraisal of the current roster offers another reminder of the depths the Bears sank to and how much work is still ahead to have a competitive roster.

Exit signs

An hour or so after the Bears completed their season with a 29-13 loss to the Minnesota Vikings in January, after David Montgomery had showered and dressed and grabbed his belongings from his Soldier Field locker, he made his way to midfield with relatives, posed for a few photos on the big orange “C” and allowed himself an extended moment of reflection.

“I just was soaking it all in,” Montgomery said the next morning. “Reminiscing on everything, just being grateful for everything.”

At that time, Montgomery had no idea what his future held. But he knew it was possible — maybe even likely — he had played his final game in a Bears uniform.

Montgomery’s rookie contract, finalized in June 2019 after he was the headliner of the Bears draft class that year, was due to expire. And no matter how much the Bears valued Montgomery’s rugged running style, grinder’s mentality and unselfish determination he breathed into the locker room, the business side of the NFL is always lurking.

It came knocking for the 25-year-old running back last week.

Ryan Poles expressed a desire to keep Montgomery as part of the team’s rebuilding plans, but only as long as it matched up within the price-point range the Bears front office had determined was practical.

It didn’t.

Thus on Tuesday night, when the Detroit Lions extended a three-year, $18 million contract offer with $11 million guaranteed, Montgomery made his way out through the revolving door so many NFL running backs become familiar with. He wound up in Allen Park, Mich., for a fresh start and an introduction that left him in that temporarily awkward phase of looking forward and back all at once.

As Montgomery met with Lions beat reporters Thursday, he gushed about the opportunity to join the team now favored to win the NFC North. The up-and-coming Lions won eight of their final 10 games last season.

“I feel very, very excited to be able to get into an offense that’s so powerful and so dynamic,” Montgomery said. “I’m excited to be here.”

Included in the Lions’ impressive finishing surge was a 41-10 shellacking of the Bears on New Year’s Day at Ford Field.

Early in his career, Montgomery looked forward to playing the Lions, sensing their inferiority.

“I had the Lions circled on the schedule,” he said. “Like, ‘Let’s go have fun.’”

In Week 17 last season? “I’m sure they had us circled,” he said.

Now Montgomery is relishing his chance to contribute to a team that seems much closer to championship contention than the one he just left. In particular, Montgomery looks at an offensive line that features Pro Bowl center Frank Ragnow, Pro Bowl right tackle Penei Sewell and standout left tackle Taylor Decker and gets excited about what that proven sturdiness could mean.

“You salivate a little bit,” he said.

During Montgomery’s four seasons in Chicago, the Bears never finished higher than 24th in total offense or 23rd in scoring. Last season the Lions ranked fourth and fifth, respectively, in those categories. So it’s understandable why Montgomery senses an opportunity to take his game to a new level.

“I know myself,” he said. “I know I’m just scratching the surface. ... I have a lot of ability to do a lot of things I haven’t showcased or I haven’t been able to showcase the last four years.”

Interpret that however you’d like.

Montgomery averaged 1,204 yards from scrimmage and eight touchdowns over four seasons as a Bear and ran with purpose every time the football touched his hands. But maybe there was more in there. And perhaps the Lions will maximize his production.

The Bears, with quarterback Justin Fields rushing for 1,143 yards last season, led the NFL in rushing and will try to continue that production on the ground with a running back group led by Khalil Herbert and enhanced by D’Onta Foreman, Travis Homer and perhaps a rookie to be drafted next month.

This is the NFL offseason. Pages turn. Players change teams.

“Free agency is what free agency is,” Montgomery said Thursday. “I’m happy to be here.”

Montgomery’s departure from the Bears made him the 46th player drafted during a 10-year run under former general managers Ryan Pace and Phil Emery not to secure a second contract with the organization.

The only Emery draft picks to sign extensions with the Bears were Kyle Long, Kyle Fuller, Charles Leno and Pat O’Donnell. (Alshon Jeffery played under the franchise tag in his fifth season before leaving in free agency.)

For Pace, the second-contract club consists of — in order of draft status — Eddie Goldman, Cody Whitehair, Eddie Jackson, Tarik Cohen, Deon Bush and DeAndre Houston-Carson.

The door remains open for nine players from Pace’s 2020 and 2021 draft classes to remain with the team via a second contract. Cole Kmet, Darnell Mooney, Fields and Jaylon Johnson are the most realistic candidates.

But Montgomery was the last remaining member of a five-player draft class from 2019. The Bears’ entire 2018 class is gone as well, and Jackson, Whitehair and Houston-Carson are the last survivors from a 14-player group drafted in 2017 and 2016.

Through that lens, it’s not difficult to understand why the Bears have been so consistently wayward, struggling to achieve any meaningful on-field success and failing to sustain any success they did enjoy.

Montgomery, though, shouldn’t be judged as a missed pick. For four seasons, he was just about everything the Bears advertised he would be on the night they drafted him.

“Outstanding production,” Pace said then. “He has vision, instincts, contact balance. He’s elusive in the hole. On top of that, he has unbelievable makeup and character. We couldn’t be happier to have him as part of our organization.”

Montgomery was happy to be here too. But now he is someplace new.

“I appreciate everything the Bears and the organization has done for me,” Montgomery said. “They gave me a shot and I’m so grateful for that. The fans were amazing.

“But I’m going to another place now where the fans are amazing as well. I get another shot and Coach (Dan) Campbell and the rest of the guys see something in me. Now it’s only my (responsibility) to go out and showcase myself and do what they see in me.”

‘A higher spirit’

On the day DeMarcus Walker started a new chapter in his football life, signing a three-year, $21 million contract with the Bears, he closed the back cover on the latest book he was reading.

“The Breakthrough Code: A Story About Living a Life Without Limits” is a parable/self-help guide by Tom McCarthy that illuminates how grand possibilities can become reality for individuals who retain proper perspective and adopt a belief-fueled mindset.

The messages folded in the book resonated with Walker, reminding him of the importance of eliminating mental roadblocks and finding tools to strengthen his self-confidence.

Walker arrived at Halas Hall on Thursday fresh off — what else? — a bit of a career breakthrough with the Tennessee Titans. He registered a career-high seven sacks last season and subsequently cashed in during free agency.

There was a spiritual element, Walker said, to his production spike.

“It takes faith,” he said. “If you take one step, it leads to two, three and four. Then you get to walking and everything.”

There was also an accumulation of experience for Walker from his four seasons with the Denver Broncos and one with the Houston Texans. Over time, Walker said he learned how to better take care of so many the little things that lead to success.

Stretching. Film study. Footwork concentration.

Focus. Effort. Drive.

“No one works harder than me,” he said. “I learned that from my dad.”

As for what the Bears can expect as Walker does his part to enliven a pass rush that produced a league-worst 20 sacks last season?

“Y’all will see after the season,” he said. “I know what type of player I am. You’ll see after the season.”

Promises like that are made annually in March, when players who are changing teams almost always do so with grand ambition and the belief their next stop will be their best one.

Still, with the 28-year-old Walker having only 19½ career sacks on his resume and joining his fourth team in four seasons, it’s natural to wonder whether his self-advertisement will come to fruition.

Bears coach Matt Eberflus and his staff see Walker as a versatile defensive lineman who can be effective rushing off the edge or bumping inside. GM Ryan Poles described him as big, tough, violent and heavy-handed.

Now it’s be up to Walker to continue fueling his career climb, something he intends to do with sturdy confidence and intentional self-improvement efforts. He promised Thursday to push his ego aside and remain open to seeking advice as he strives for continued growth professionally and personally.

“A lot of guys are just guys,” Walker said. “There are very few men in this world. (It’s difficult) to put their pride to the side and talk to someone and say, ‘How’s your brain? Why did you fall here? How did you have success here? Or what happened right here?’ I’ve asked some tough questions (during my career).”

During his time in Denver, Walker saw the examples of Broncos veterans such as Von Miller, Derek Wolfe, Domata Peko and Jurrell Casey in learning to be a pro.

When he got to Houston in 2021, he fought for playing time within a defensive line group that included Jonathan Greenard, Maliek Collins, Jacob Martin and Charles Omenihu. Last season he entered a Titans defensive line room that included Denico Autry, Harold Landry, Jeffery Simmons and Bud Dupree.

“I literally walked into the meeting, like, ‘Why do you all need me?’”

Still, Walker took advantage of the opportunities Titans coach Mike Vrabel and defensive coordinator Shane Bowen set up for him. Now it’s time for his next step with the Bears.

As he enters his seventh NFL season, Walker has yet to play in a playoff game and has been longing to play on a team with top-notch quarterback play. During his three previous stops, his team’s starting quarterbacks have been Brock Osweiler, Trevor Siemian, Paxton Lynch, Case Keenum, Joe Flacco, Drew Lock, Brandon Allen, Jeff Driskel, Brett Rypien, Tyrod Taylor, Davis Mills, Ryan Tannehill, Malik Willis and Josh Dobbs.

Now? Another page turn.

On Thursday, Walker became the latest Bear to cast a vote of confidence in Justin Fields, looking downright giddy when asked whether Fields’ presence factored into his decision to sign with the Bears.

“Abso-(expletive)-lutely,” Walker said.

That has only furthered his excitement for this new career opportunity.

“I’ve had some tough conversations (over time),” Walker said. “I’ve had some coaches tell me I’m just a role player or I’m not this. For me to believe in myself and to get to where I’m at, it just didn’t happen by accident. There’s a higher spirit.”