Bears GM Ryan Poles reveals reasons for ‘jackpot’ Panthers trade that led to Caleb Williams

When Ryan Poles took over as the general manager of the Chicago Bears in January 2022, he was inheriting one of the worst and most poorly constructed teams in the NFL. Sure, there may have been a couple of interesting pieces in place thanks to the previous regime, but otherwise, the cupboards were pretty bare. The Bears were in cap hell, lacking draft capital, and had as few true long-term blue chippers as any team in the NFL.

Fast forward 28 months later, and now he Bears are a team that is unequivocally and indisputably on the rise. The makings of a top ten defense? Check! An offense full of dynamic playmakers? Check! A rebuilt offensive line? Check! A 1st overall pick at quarterback who is ready to light up the city of Chicago like it’s 1996 all over again? Check!

It’s been a tour de force of team-building, and the catalyst of all of it was a trade last March with the Carolina Panthers, which set the Chicago Bears up not only with the opportunity to potentially hit the jackpot with Caleb Williams, but also to craft this tremendous supporting cast that has been built around him. And ultimately, as Ryan Poles revealed in a fantastically-written and reported piece by Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, building the team was all Poles had in mind when trading out of the 1st overall pick in 2023.

“It was a move I made, one, because I wanted to continue to evaluate Justin [Fields], and two, I knew we had to keep building our football team,” Poles told Breer. “We needed more players to close the gap on some of the years prior, with all the trades before. It was just a move to improve the football team.”

Ryan Poles did just that. In the 13 months since making that trade, the Bears have added the following projected 2024 starters to their team: DJ Moore, TJ Edwards, Tremaine Edmonds, Darnell Wright, Tyrique Stevenson, Gervon Dexter, Montez Sweat, Keenan Allen, Kevin Byard, D’Andre Swift, Ryan Bates, Rome Odunze, and Tory Taylor. Am I missing anyone?

Wait? Is that Ryan Poles sitting at a slot machine? What’s he doing there on a Tuesday morning? He just pulled the lever, and up pops… Franchise QB! Franchise QB! Franchise QB! 

“It ended up being a jackpot situation,” Ryan Poles said.

When you sit down to play the slots, you’re probably just hoping that you at least break even, or maybe even win a little bit of cash. But Ryan Poles sat down and has been on a heater ever since, and now the Bears potentially find themselves in the unusual position of being one of the better built and more entertaining teams in the entire National Football League.