What can the Packers expect from the Bears this season?
By Todd Welter
Green Bay Packers fans can expect Aaron Rodgers to continue his ownership of the Chicago Bears this season. Packers fans might as well cue up “The Bears Still Suck” on September 18th and December 4th, after the Green Bay Packers most likely beat the Bears again.
The Green Bay Packers should not be threatened by their rival to the South for the NFC North title this season. That is because the Bears spent their offseason starting a massive rebuild in hopes of owning the NFC North someday.
The Bears fired general manager Ryan Pace and head coach Matt Nagy during the offseason. Ryan Poles takes over as general manager and Matt Eberflus is the new head coach. Poles decided that after Chicago went 6-11 last season and making the playoffs just twice during the Ryan Pace era, it was time to reset the roster.
Gone are Khalil Mack, Allen Robinson, Akiem Hicks, James Daniels, Bilal Nichols, Eddie Goldman, and Jimmy Graham. 26 of the 47 players who dressed the last time the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears faced off are no longer with the Bears. The Packers even signed away one of the longest-tenured Bears in punter Pat O’Donnell.
After the Bears made their final roster cuts on Tuesday, less than 50% of the players acquired by Pace remain on the team.
Just 22 players remain from the Ryan Pace era after today. That means the #Bears had an overall turnover rate (on this initial roster) of close to 59% of their current roster in one offseason under the new regime. https://t.co/Pk4WIUKb4q
— Aaron Leming (@AaronLemingNFL) August 30, 2022
The Bears did not make any major splashes in free agency. They failed to add any impactful offensive weapons for second-year quarterback Justin Fields. They went bargain shopping at wide receiver by signing Bryon Pringle, Dante Pettis, and former Packers wideout Equanimeous St. Brown. The hope is that one of these four has some untapped potential still left in their careers to play alongside Darnell Mooney.
The Bears’ offensive line was a major problem last season and not a lot of free agent dollars were allocated to that group. The Bears did lure Lucas Patrick out of Green Bay to play center. They also added veteran Riley Reiff right before training camp.
The Bears’ biggest offseason move was hiring Green Bay Packers passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach Luke Getsy to run Chicago’s offense. He will attempt to implement the successful offensive scheme the Packers have been running. The only difference is he will have Fields coming off a bad rookie season as his quarterback instead of a four-time NFL MVP signal caller in Aaron Rodgers.
The Bears tried to add Larry Ogunjobi to anchor the defensive line but he failed a physical. The Bears instead added Josh Jacobs to take over the three-technique defensive tackle position as Chicago switches from a 3-4 defensive scheme to a 4-3.
Otherwise, the Bears signed mostly one-year deal free agents. The plan is the Bears are using the 2022 season to clear up their salary cap mess. The Bears are carrying over $56 million in dead salary cap space. According to Overthecap.com, the Bears will have $100 million in cap space heading into the next offseason.
The Bears also did not have a first-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft but walked away with 11 players in the draft to infuse some much needed youth to the roster.
The 2022 season is a rebuilding year. It is all about implementing Eberflus’ HITS principle, evaluating whether Fields is the long-term answer at quarterback, all while Poles is getting ready for a busy 2023 offseason.