Chicago Bears named best spot for $20 million offensive lineman connected to Ryan Poles

Few things are going to matter more to Caleb Williams’ development or the Chicago Bears becoming a contender than drastically improving the offensive line this offseason.

According to Pro Football Focus, the Bears finished the 2024 campaign ranked No. 24 in the NFL, while allowing Williams to absorb a league-high 68 sacks as a rookie and 180 quarterback pressures on top of that.

As the Philadelphia Eagles, Kansas City Chiefs, Detroit Lions, and Buffalo Bills have made abundantly clear in recent seasons, few things impact a franchise’s ability to compete for Super Bowls more than building out an elite and dominant offensive line.

This might be the perfect offseason for general manager Ryan Poles and new head coach Ben Johnson to begin doing exactly that.

Chicago Bears Linked to All-Pro Caliber OL Trey Smith

Kansas City Chiefs offensive guard Trey Smith is likely going to be the premier player available at the position in free agency and could be the Bears’ top offseason target.

According to Brad Biggs of The Chicago Tribune, one NFL general manager expects Smith to hit the market because of a price tag that could reach $20 million.

“And they don’t protect the edges,” a pro personnel man told Biggs. “The first place you have to win in football is on the edges. But Trey Smith is awesome. Young, athletic, incredible run blocker, very good in pass protection. Prime of his career. Championship pedigree now.”

The Bears are in a unique position in that Smith’s cap hit shouldn’t be prohibitive given the need and the weapons that are already in place on offense being hampered by shoddy offensive line play the past several seasons.

Smith finished the 2024 campaign with a 78.8 overall grade from Pro Football Focus, as the No. 14 ranked guard in the entire NFL, without allowing a sack all season.

While several teams could be bidding for Smith’s services when the market opens, Biggs suggests the Bears may be a uniquely ideal fit for the 25-year-old stalwart interior lineman.

“It’s easy to see the Bears being a serious player for Smith,” Biggs writes. “Considering Ryan Poles was a high-ranking member of the Chiefs front office when Smith was drafted. It’s also easy to envision any number of teams with ample cap space — the New England Patriots, Washington Commanders, Arizona Cardinals, Los Angeles Chargers and Minnesota Vikings, among others — being interested.”