As the Chicago Bears prepare for the start of free agency and the new league year, general manager Ryan Poles has already been at work, completing several moves ahead of time.
In conjunction with re-signing some of their own free agents, including a pair of special teams standouts, the Bears also went out and made a couple of trades and an additional signing this past week.
Poles kicked off this past week by trading for guard Jonah Jackson. A day later, he shocked the NFL when the Bears dealt for two-time All Pro guard Joe Thuney.
In addition, Chicago brought in one of Ben Johnson’s old friends in tight end Durham Smythe to help on the blocking front.
And now, Poles could go out and make one more gigantic move before the official start of free agency.
On Friday, the Washington Commanders officially released defensive tackle Jonathan Allen after failing to find a trade partner for the veteran.
Jonathan Allen is worth the risk for Ryan Poles and the Bears
Last year was somewhat of a down season for Allen, who missed half the regular season with a torn pectoral. Still, at 30 years old, he offers the Bears a perfect compliment to Andrew Billings, who is the team’s primary run stuffer up front.
Allen isn’t going to help much against the run, but as an interior pass rusher, he does have 42.0 sacks over his eight years in the league. He’s been much better generating pressure from the inside than he has stopping the run.
Again, next to Billings, he’d be a phenomenal signing.
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Allen would have counted over $22 million against the cap had he stayed in Washington, and the Commanders were glad to get that final year of his contract off the books.
Speaking of his contract, the Bears likely wouldn’t have to pay the same kind of money, annually, in order to land the veteran who is now over the age of 30. Should Poles go out and offer the majority guaranteed in his first year with the Bears and propose, say, a 3-year deal worth between $35-$45 million, that might get it done.
Would it be too much for a player on the decline? Maybe. Would he be worth the risk? Absolutely. This is the kind of calculated risk the Bears can take when riding on the back of a rookie quarterback contract.