Ryan Poles nearly cooked again, falling oh-so short in his quest to reel in a blockbuster Matthew Judon Bears trade and once again stimulate the simmering “Let Poles Cook” meme activity on social media. On Thursday, we learned that the Bears and Falcons, the ultimate winners of the abrupt sweepstakes for Judon’s services, had offered identical compensation to the Patriots for their star pass rusher.
My immediate gut-checking dissection of the NBC Sports Boston report — which revealed that the Bears, like the Falcons, had proposed a third-round pick — is that the Falcons made more sense, as the likelier of the two teams to implode, since Atlanta could relatively assure the higher draft selection. But then I read on Bears Wire that contract negotiations also factored into the trade playing out how it did. Except one thing: Judon, whose pursuit of a new contract prompted his offloading, isn’t imminently expected to get a fresh deal in Atlanta, according to CBS’ Jonathan Jones.
Judon, 32, is merely a four-time Pro Bowler who recorded 15.5 sacks in 2022. He undoubtedly would have been an imposing addition to pair opposite Montez Sweat. I mean, just look at how Packers blog, Lombardi Ave, reacted to the Bears’ near missile: The stupidest team in football was apparently “saved from disaster.”
Although rarely does a swing and a miss, itself, constitute a meaningful consolation prize, I did not foresee the Bears significantly endeavoring to acquire another defensive end, let alone someone of Judon’s stature, at this point in the preseason. The fact that they did do this very thing proves that Poles is untethered to the roster’s current construction weeks until the season begins and may try to strike again in short order, injecting a sense of authority into the suggestion that Matt Eberflus’ recent comments about having two Sweat-like pass rushers was more than wishful thinking.
I’ve been concerned about the Bears’ seeming disinterest in adding a stalwart defensive end to a position group that I believe is fairly thin, which shouldn’t be conflated with sleeping on rookie Austin Booker, who I think need not be unfairly thrust into a must-perform role in Year 1. Although, Booker did crush it against the Bills’ reserves on Saturday. And, so too, did Daniel Hardy. Both these guys should be tested against starters before the preseason is over. If they are, and they show up, it’d go a long way to soothing the nerves about the Bears’ pass-rushing situation.
What I mean to say is: goddammit, we almost acquired Judon! But also, we might still be okay, guys.
