Chicago Bears 2025 Mock Offseason: Time For A Shakeup

Accepting mistakes is a big part of organizational success. Failing to move on from them quickly enough can often lead to problems. That is what this latest Chicago Bears 2025 mock offseason is about. Guys who haven’t lived up to their billing will be gone and a serious shuffle will take place in several areas, top to bottom. The obvious goal is circling the wagons around Caleb Williams while also trying to steady a defense that has clearly lost its edge. Here is the latest attempt.

This Chicago Bears 2025 mock offseason is about removing failures.

Organizational changes:

• GM Ryan Poles fired and replaced by Jeff Ireland
• Ben Johnson hired as head coach

There just isn’t any justification for Poles staying beyond this season. There have been too many high-profile misfires. Team president Kevin Warren decides to take the Buffalo approach, identifying the head coach first and looking to pair him with a GM with whom he’s familiar. Johnson worked with Ireland for several seasons in Miami. The Saints’ assistant GM drafted eight eventual Pro Bowlers while there and has been a considerable part of the Saints maintaining what had been a competitive roster for years.

Trades:

• LB Tremaine Edmunds to Dallas for 3rd round pick
• CB Tyrique Stevenson to Buffalo for 4th round pick

It’s time for a defensive shakeup. Edmunds was an expensive acquisition in free agency two years ago. While he hasn’t been terrible, he isn’t worth the money he is getting paid. Dallas is desperate for help with its run defense and needs a good linebacker. As for Stevenson, he’s become a liability in coverage. Whatever happened to the playmaking skills he flashed as a rookie has disappeared. He isn’t reliable enough without it. Let the Bills see if they can salvage him.

Cuts:

• TE Gerald Everett – $5.5 million saved
• OG Ryan Bates – $4 million saved

Re-signings:

• Keenan Allen – 2-year deal for $34 million
• Jack Sanborn – RFA tender for $3.185 million
• Josh Blackwell – RFA tender for $3.185 million
• Jaylon Jones – 1-year deal for $1.1 million
• Doug Kramer – 1-year deal for $1.1 million
• Bill Murray – ERFA tender for $840,000
• Chris Williams – ERFA tender for $960,000
• Daniel Hardy – ERFA tender for $960,000
• Jonathan Owens – 1-year deal for $1.255 million
• Jacob Martin – 1-year deal for $1.255 million

Free agency:

• LB Nick Bolton – 3-year deal for $42 million
• C Drew Dalman – 3-year deal for $33 million
• CB Charvarius Ward – 2-year deal for $24 million
• RG Brandon Scherff – 1-year deal for $10 million

The Bears have the money to spend and they do precisely that. Bolton has been an excellent presence in the middle for Kansas City’s aggressive defense. His ability and winning experience will be most welcome. Dalman has emerged as a quality center in Atlanta, excelling as a run blocker and showing big strides lately in pass protection. Ward was a Pro Bowler in 2023 but fell off this season. Though approaching 30, he still has plenty of gas in the tank. Scherff remains one of the better guards in the league, even at 31. He’s a perfect short-term solution.

The Draft:

1st Round – Abdul Carter, EDGE, Penn State

Drafting offensive line early is no longer required after the Bears settled the area in free agency. That permits them to take the best player available. There is no doubt Carter is that type of player. He’s an electric pass rusher with speed, explosiveness, and deceptive power who has set the tone for Penn State’s defense all season. Putting him across from Montez Sweat finally gives this team a viable 1-2 punch.

2nd Round – Tyler Booker, OG, Alabama

No way this Bears 2025 mock offseason ends without drafting an offensive lineman. Booker is the latest in a long line of quality Crimson Tide blockers. He isn’t special in any category. Still, he’s good in most of them. He has size, power, good enough mobility, and is polished in his fundamentals. The guy won’t have many highlights, but he’ll anchor one of your guard positions for a long time.

2nd Round (via CAR) – Omarr Norman-Lott, DT, Tennessee

Ireland has to consider Andrew Billings’s season-ending injury and the need for an interior rush. Norman-Lott can satisfy both concerns. He’s shown steady improvement in getting to the quarterback with 9.5 sacks over the past two seasons. Better still, he has the size and power to hold his ground against the run. All he needs is more polishing of his fundamentals, particularly his high pad level.

3rd Round – Kaleb Johnson, RB, Iowa

D’Andre Swift is not a feature back. Ben Johnson loved using a tandem backfield in Detroit, so he needs to find the workhorse David Montgomery type to complement Swift’s speed. That is exactly what the Bears get in Kaleb Johnson. He is a good size, plenty of power, excellent vision, and contact balance to not go down easily. With over 1500 yards and 21 touchdowns in 2024, he proved his capability as a feature back.

3rd Round (via DAL) – Donovan Jackson, OG, Ohio State

Did you think the Bears were done? Not at all. They go to the well again, adding the big and athletic Jackson. While his consistency has been spotty at times, he can be an imposing blocker. He works well in space, has the strength and violent temperament to reset the line of scrimmage in the ground game, and shows versatility to play multiple positions.

4th Round (via BUF) – Evan Stewart, WR, Oregon

While the Bears have managed to keep their top trio intact for the time being, they still don’t have that true deep threat. Tyler Scott hasn’t emerged as hoped. So they try again, this time with the speedy Stewart. He’s been a regular big-play threat for the Ducks, even if he’s a little undersized.

5th Round – Billy Bowman, S, Oklahoma

The status of Jaquan Brisker, who has now missed most of the season with a concussion, is an underrated storyline. They have to take steps for the possibility that he may not have a future in Chicago. Bowman is a tough, instinctive player who isn’t a premier athlete but does everything well.

6th Round (via PIT) – Oscar Delp, TE, Georgia

He hasn’t had the breakout season he hoped for. Still, Delp is that preferred combination of size and athleticism that could make for a versatile playmaker in the passing game. It comes down to whether he can learn the nuances of route running.

7th Round (via CLE) – Tony Grimes, CB, UNLV

It’s one of those high-upside projects that have size, speed, and athleticism to play in the NFL. Grimes doesn’t lack grit or physicality. His primary issue has been limited playmaking, with only one interception in college. Perhaps he can blossom with the right coaching.

7th Round (via CIN) – Jamon Dumas-Johnson, LB, Kentucky

More than ever, teams prefer having interior linebackers who can get after the quarterback. Dumas-Johnson is certainly that type, with 13 sacks in his college career. He’s an aggressive, downhill hunter with good instincts. He isn’t a sideline-to-sideline guy, so that must be accounted for.