Bears writer believes GM Ryan Poles made one big mistake this off season
In pretty much any job in the world, there is a steep learning curve. As people are getting comfortable with their roles, they will need to focus on learning new processes and systems. They also have to get comfortable with their job but they must not get comfortable with their level of knowledge. The majority of experts say that the employee adjustment period ranges from three to six months.
With that being said, the new Bears GM Ryan Poles did not have the luxury to have that amount of time to adjust. In fact, he was thrown into the fire directly as the Bears' general manager.
I feel like he has done a tremendous job with what he had in front of him. Let's be honest, the cap situation and the roster were in a horrible place.
However, Poles did make one crucial mistake according to Bears writer Jacob Infante.
They put all their chips in on a RFA, and when that didn't work out, they didn't have a strong backup plan in place. Rookie mistake for Ryan Poles that I hope he corrects going forward.
For those of you that don't remember, Bates, a restricted free agent, visited with the Bears earlier this offseason. Bates then signed his offer sheet from the Bears on March 24, which gave the Bills five days to match Chicago's offer.
Which is exactly what they did.
This meant that the Bears lost out on Bates and they also lost a lot of time thinking they would get him and they did not make a push for any other interior lineman at the time.
I have to agree with Infante on that one. I know that it's hard to criticize a guy during his first few months at the job, but I have to do it as well. Poles should have been more careful in his pursuit of Bates.
Clearly, Bates was a long-term option to Poles, and they now likely need to lock up a player on a two-year deal who is still available to be a stop-gap while they develop their next offensive guard. The off-season isn't over yet and I hope Poles is able to still build a pretty solid offensive line in front of QB Justin Fields.
