The Chicago Bears Have Made It Clear Who They Will Extend First

While everybody is focused on free agency in March, the real work begins now for GM Ryan Poles. The Chicago Bears have several players on their roster with either expiring contracts or entering the last year of their deals. He must figure out which ones he'd like to give extensions, making them part of his big plan for the organization. There is no shortage of names lined up. Darnell Mooney and Chase Claypool headline the wide receivers. Cole Kmet is in the mix at tight end. David Montgomery is a pending free agent. Then there is Jaylon Johnson at cornerback.

Poles has plenty of money to play around with, but we don't know who sits atop his list of priorities. Well, the GM provided some answers at his latest press conference. He was asked who stood out to him the most during the season. While Poles expressed deep admiration for Montgomery, the player who got the most praise was Kmet.

“The one that stands out to me this year — I was just proud of and spent time with him, talking about it — but I thought Cole did a really good job. I thought he elevated his game from the film that I watched last year to what it was this year, so that’s exciting. I mean, that’s one that comes to mind right now.”

He isn't wrong. Kmet has the best all-around season of his career. His blocking was solid, and he was the most consistent receiving option Justin Fields had, with 544 yards and seven touchdowns. He looked more like the 2nd round pick the Bears made him in 2020. The best part is he's not even 24 years old yet.

The Chicago Bears must do what is best for Fields.

He clearly has a strong connection with Kmet. Whenever he needed a first down or a big play in the red zone, he always looked the tight end's way first. It was the same with Mooney. While an ankle injury ended his year early, the young receiver was finding his groove after a tough start to the season. Locking both of them up would make Fields happy and send a good message to the locker room. Poles has said he wants to reward homegrown talent. Kmet and Mooney could lead the way.

As always, the tricky part is money. The Chicago Bears might be flush with cap space, but that doesn't mean they're going to overpay simply because they can. They'll want to find deals they think are fair for both players. Cap specialist Brad Spielberger of Pro Football Focus believes Kmet is looking at around $12 million per year. That would put him in a similar range as Hunter Henry and Dawson Knox. Mooney is trickier because of the injury. He did crack 1,000 yards last season, but the Bears didn't get a full year of evaluation on him. He is probably looking at around $14-17 million per year.

It will be interesting to see how Poles approaches this.