Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles and Co. spent the eighth-most in cap dollars this offseason at $389.8 million, per Spotrac, including free agency, re-signings, extensions, and their rookie class. Fittingly, then, NFL.com’s Nick Shook projects the Bears to be one of the seven most improved teams in 2025.
According to Shook, it is exactly that mix of offseason moves that has the Bears poised to take a significant step forward in what figures to be a multi-year process.
Bears Projected Among Most Improved Teams in 2025
Bears’ Offseason Moves Inspired Confidence
The Bears also ranked eighth in money spent in free agency, and they handed out the sixth-most guaranteed money during the cycle.
Much of that went toward the offensive line, where Shook noted the Bears added “top-tier” players in Drew Dalman in free agency and Joe Thuney via trade, as well as Jonah Jackson, a Pro Bowler whom they also acquired via trade.
Shook noted several other “key” moves that the Bears made that should help second-year quarterback Caleb Williams.
Their first two draft picks went to Coltson Loveland and Luther Burden III.
Shook considered Burden a “first-round-caliber talent who dropped to Round 2,” while also noting that Loveland profiles as an “excellent” pairing with veteran incumbent Cole Kmet in what should be heavy 12 personnel usage under new head coach Ben Johnson.
Defensively, Shook questioned “how much gas” free agent defensive tackle Grady Jarrett has left, but expects the veteran to help boost what was the 28th-ranked run defense last season.
Overall, Shook believes this offseason was a critical early step for the Bears.
“The Bears’ rebuild was always going to require multiple seasons,” Shook wrote on June 17. “The 2025 campaign might be the first in which we see notable progress, because of how they strategically sifted through the offseason.”
Bears Must Be Wary of Repeating History
Former Green Bay Packers quarterback and Bears nemesis Aaron Rodgers, now of the Pittsburgh Steelers, offered a poignant reminder for Chicago.
“Every year [they say], ‘This is our year. This is our year. We added this guy, and that guy, and we got a new coach from Detroit. Oh, man. Look out. This is it,” Rodgers said on the “YNK” podcast in May. “And what does every coach that signs with the Bears say? ‘We got to beat the Packers,’ right? Packers don’t give a s***.”
More pertinent to the Bears at this point, though, is not to get too ahead of themselves.
They have fallen victim to that in years past, including last offseason when they finished the year with a 5-12 record. To a man, Bears players have cited the level of attention to detail that Johnson and his staff have displayed.
To that end, the coach has been clear that they have a long way to go before they are ready for their regular season opener against the Minnesota Vikings on Monday Night Football.