Ryan Poles’ inaction to address the running back position is highly concerning

The Chicago’s Bears roster is finalized as the team has begun preparations for their Week 1 Monday Night game against the Minnesota Vikings at Soldier Field, despite significant concerns at the running back position. At the moment, of Chicago’s three halfbacks on the roster, only one in D’Andre Swift is healthy while Roschon Johnson and Kyle Monangai have missed preseason games with injuries. With the health concerns for the running back position paired with other questions related to talent, general manger Ryan Poles’ inaction to address the situation has become concerning.

Ryan Poles has done minimal work to address the running back position even with the season quickly approaching

Following the 2024 season, running back was expected to be addressed during the offseason by Ryan Poles after disappointing levels of production from the position. Although there was instability at offensive coordinator with Shane Waldron being fired after the team’s Week 10 loss and then replacement Thomas Brown being promoted to head coach three games later, Swift and Johnson only combined for only 1,109 rushing yards. Once Poles hired Ben Johnson as the Bears’ new head coach, even more emphasis was expected to be applied to upgrading the halfback spot, given Johnson’s fondness to run the ball.

During his time in Detroit, Johnson had at least one running back record 1,000 rushing yards or more in three consecutives, while the offense as a whole would rush for over 2,000 yards for three consecutive seasons. Although Ryan Poles hired the successful Detroit play-caller to help mentor and develop quarterback Caleb Williams, one of the enticing aspects of the head coaching hire was an improved rushing offense. Unlike in Detroit though, Johnson hasn’t been given the resources by Poles during the offseason and even preseason to inspire hope for the Bears’ rushing attack to begin 2025.

Very little was done during the offseason by Ryan Poles, whether be free agency or the NFL Draft, to make significant upgrades to the running back position. There were legitimate rumors that Chicago was highly interested in selecting Ashton Jeanty with the tenth overall selection or TreVeyon Henderson in the second round. Despite both players being off the board along with other running back prospects available, Poles would wait until the seventh round to take Monangai from Rutgers.

Poles and Chicago’s front office passed on other available prospects, including R.J. Harvey who was taken by Denver and Kaleb Johnson who was selected by Pittsburgh. Although the Bears might have felt the roster had more pressing needs, it was concerning to see the team pass on potential prospects when several were still available before the last round of the draft. Additionally, if there were scheme fit concerns for the new offense, Chicago was still not in place where they could turn down a mix of depth and talent due to whether or not a prospect would fit.

The failure in the draft was compounded by the fact that Ryan Poles failed to add any veteran running backs during free agency before the draft. Despite there being a lack of high-end talent at the position available in free agency, there were still serviceable halfbacks on the market that the team could have signed, including Javonte Williams, J.K. Dobbins, and Najee Harris, all of whom had been starters for their previous teams. Additionally, Poles could have executed a trade during the offseason to bring in a serviceable back to help provide depth, experience, and talent at the position.

Even with the season less than a week and a half away, Ryan Poles has remained inactive following roster cuts as no running backs placed on waivers this week were claimed by Chicago. It was even more confusing given the fact that backs including Damien Martinez and Audric Estime, who had 76 carries with the Broncos offense last year. With the inaction to address the position at running back, fans and those in the media have begun to wonder if swift and practice squad running back, Brittain Brown, will be the only back available against the Vikings on September 8th.

Ryan Poles will have no leverage at the NFL trade deadline if Chicago wants to add a running back

The dire need of both depth and talent at the running back position, could make Poles job extremely difficult when the NFL trade deadline approaches at the end of October if Chicago is competitive. There will be several running back available at the deadline, but unfortunately for Poles, he will lack any negotiation leverage to avoid having to pay more for a player due to the obvious weakness at the position. Additionally, the negotiation costs could be driven even higher if other teams are interested in the same player Chicago might covet, including those within the NFC North.

Back in 2022, the Bears were in dire need of improving the wide receiver position, as the team lacked any credible pass-catchers for Justin Fields to throw too. Ryan Poles would trade the 32nd overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft for Chase Claypool, a move that would later become the worst trade in the general manager’s tenure with the Bears. The reason why Poles was forced into trading such a high draft selection for Claypool was due to the weakness at the pass-catching position paired with the fact that the Green Bay Packers were also highly interested in trading for the Pittsburgh receiver.

Due to Poles’ inability to address the position in the offseason or in training camp, it will likely come back to cost Chicago at the trade deadline. Imagine a scenario where Ryan Poles has to give up more draft assets than he might need to in order to secure a trade for either Alvin Kamara, Kenneth Walker, or Jonathan Taylor because those teams know the Bears would be desperate to improve at the position. Additionally, this could even hurt the team in the 2026 NFL Draft because opposing teams picking before Chicago will understand that the franchise will likely draft a running back.

It is truly concerning that a general manager wouldn’t look to improve the running back position, especially when his new head coach has made it known that there will be massive emphasis on running the ball. Ryan Poles has spent the offseason improving several weak spots on the roster, including the offensive line and defensive line, but failed to do so for the running back position. If Chicago’s new offense falters to begin the 2025 season, especially when it comes to running the ball, analysts and fans will be quick to blame Poles, and rightfully so.