1️⃣1️⃣ Days Until the Season Opener!

Good morning, Bears fans!

Caleb Williams is set to appear on Hot Ones on Thursday morning and man isn’t it convenient for the show’s writers that he earned that Iceman nickname late last season? I can’t believe that I’m looking forward to seeing someone eat a plate of chicken wings, but here we are.

It won’t be the only 🔥 Bears thing dropping tomorrow, either. Watch your inbox and our socials for a season-long contest I know you’ll enjoy.

— Kevin Kaduk

Poles: ‘I don’t know’ if Kyler Gordon will return The stalemate continues with the Bears GM hinting the team thinks the PUP-ridden cornerback is ready to go, but that Gordon believes otherwise. “Anytime you have an injury and are coming back, there’s discomfort you have to push through. And that’s what it comes down to.” I wrote more on the situation here.

James Lynch and Jack Sanborn added to 53-man roster Coby Bryant and Hayden Large heading to IR created room for both players, who were temporary victims of Cutdown Day. The linebacker room is now up to five.

14 players signed to the practice squad. Salvon Ahmed, Kaden Davis and Caden Barnett are back. So are Stephen Carlson, Marcus Davenport and Scotty Miller. Full list here.

OK, let’s start today with a multiple choice question.

The mini-civil war that broke out on Monday over Ryan Poles' track record as Chicago Bears GM was a result of …

If you answered D, go ahead and put a little extra gravy on your beef today.

I honestly found the entire discourse extremely strange. Poles has had his share of misses, which his detractors were glad to list. He’s also had his share of hits, which his defenders were happy to recite.

I’m somewhere the middle of both groups, so I could wonder only one thing.

Why are we bringing this up just days before the most-anticipated Bears season in recent memory?

I get that some of you aren’t happy with the defensive line and it’s definitely a point of concern. But sweet Alfonso Boone, the unit hasn’t played a single official snap in 2026 and the team … checks notes … is coming off an NFC North division title. Moving Dexter ahead of a big payday or calling it quits with Amegadjie shouldn’t be a trigger for a five-alarm fire.

But to hear a lot of people’s reactions, Poles has entered Arturas Karnisovas and GarPax territory and this era is already over before it’s even really begun.

Look, here’s the only thing that matters right now: Ben Johnson seems to like him and they’ve worked well together so far.

A healthy and communicative relationship between the head coach and front office is exactly how all of this is supposed to work.

We’re only a little over a year of Johnson and Poles working together and the first season was such a success that it accelerated everyone’s expectations to think the Bears are close to a finished project. That’s an objectively great thing, but it increases the challenge of landing the plane when you’re still building it in the air.

Would Poles be experiencing such job security if it weren’t for Johnson or Caleb Williams? Almost certainly not. But we’d likely be saying the same for anyone sitting in the GM seat right now and there’s no guarantee that person would’ve done the things to even get Johnson and Williams here.

Working hand in hand with Johnson, Poles has helped gather the parts for a Top 5 NFL offense in record time and given the Bears a chance to successfully defend a division title for the first time in 20 years.

Now comes the second part of the build, which means gathering standouts on the defense just like they did for the offense. That won’t be easy and Poles has to trust Dennis Allen can help on that side of the ball.

But it’s all part of a process that needs patience to play out. Has Poles made mistakes in the past? Yes. Will Johnson end up making mistake. Also yes.

And not maybe there will come a time where it’s fair to criticize them for not completing the plan, but not 11 days before Johnson’s second season even begins.

Ryan Droste and I got into the Ryan Poles discourse plus much more on the debut of the Bears By 7 podcast this week. Watch it on YouTube or download it on Apple, Spotify or your favorite provider!

Is this real life?

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