Two Former Head Coaches Think Chicago Bears Are Killing Free Agency

It's one thing to get opinions from analysts who have never played football. The same goes for fans. These people may watch it but never had their feet in the fire. They weren't part of decisions that decided the fate of franchises. It is different for head coaches. They understand the subtle intricacies of every roster decision and how it may affect a franchise in the short and long term. It would be interesting to hear their opinions on what the Chicago Bears have done over the past week.

The 33rd Team obliged. Their website employs several former NFL employees, including players, executives, and head coaches. Bears fans probably remember the names Marvis Lewis and Mike Zimmer. Lewis was the head coach in Cincinnati from 2003 to 2018. Zimmer ran the show in Minnesota from 2014 to 2021. Both had substantial success during those periods. They also had strong sayings in personnel matters. Both agree that the Bears are one of the biggest winners of early 2023 free agency.

“The Bears made the trade with Carolina that brought in receiver D.J. Moore, then they went out and get two inside linebacker starters. That’s big for them, and they’ll continue to fill in spots. They made some good moves getting players who will help them as they go through a rebuild.” — Lewis

“Tremaine Edmunds is a terrific linebacker. They also signed T.J. Edwards there, they got Nate Davis for their O-line, and they’ve got a lot more draft capital they can use by trading the first overall pick. I think that’s good.” — Zimmer

The Chicago Bears deserve the high praise.

Lewis and Zimmer seem to agree on one point. What the Bears did at linebacker deserves special acknowledgment. Not only did they add former Pro Bowler Tremaine Edmunds at $2 million per year less than Roquan Smith would've cost, but they also secured T.J. Edwards at a massive discount despite his outstanding 2022 season, where he had 159 tackles. Both are in their primes and massive upgrades over what the Bears had last year. That doesn't even account for the 2nd and 5th round picks GM Ryan Poles got back in the Smith trade.

One can comfortably say as of right now, the Chicago Bears have added five new starters to their roster. There are Edmunds and Edwards, along with guard Nate Davis and defensive linemen Andrew Billings and DeMarcus Walker. Despite that, Poles still has the most cap space in the NFL by nearly $10 million and ten picks in the upcoming draft. None of their moves have felt reckless. That is how smart teams operate. It offers plenty of optimism that this new regime has things pointed in the right direction.