Chicago Bears Q&A: What grade has GM Ryan Poles earned so far? What’s the deal with Teven Jenkins?

The Chicago Bears are one week into training camp, and some answers have started to emerge while other developments raise more questions. As he does every week, the Tribune’s Brad Biggs tries to answer them.

What grade would you give Ryan Poles so far? What have you seen from him that has either impressed you or given you a level of concern about the Bears’ future under his watch? — @tns5280

I know sometimes we’re in a social media world that wants to make snap judgments on everything, but I’d have a hard time taking anyone seriously who wants to judge a general manager after less than seven months on the job. Are there some individual moves that look good or iffy? Sure. But the Bears have yet to play a game this season, and the only way I know of to determine a GM’s success is to inspect his team’s record and postseason results.

This is a multiyear project for the Bears that could make the never-ending construction on I-294 look snappy. This isn’t a quick rebuild or a roster Poles can reload in one year. So trying to judge what he has done so far and if it will work is impossible. He chose to clear out some salary-cap space to reorder things beginning in 2023, and he was short on draft capital. Poles and his staff appear to have taken a long view with what they’re doing, so we have to be patient and see what shakes out.

Giving him a grade right now would be more useless than the grades some attach to NFL drafts right after they conclude. Those are largely based on whether a team filled perceived needs and how high certain draftniks had players ranked — players who have yet to play in the NFL. Let’s see how the Bears are doing after Year 3 under Poles. Then I can give you a pretty good answer. If they’re not clearly headed in the right direction at that point, they could have some problems.

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Can you name one decision that Ryan Poles has made that worked? — @hozeking

I’m not going to say Kyler Gordon and Jaquan Brisker will be stars for this defense in the near future, but they have a real chance. Both have looked smooth through a week of training camp. They have next to no competition for starting jobs. They will make mistakes as rookies, but from what we have seen so far, they have a knack for getting their hands on the ball.

Recall what Poles said after the draft when he used his top two picks on defensive backs. He said the Bears went with the strength on the board at the time and didn’t want to reach for an offensive lineman or wide receiver. Reality is the Bears had pressing needs in the secondary as well, and Poles filled those needs. This wasn’t a quick fix and there will be a slew of needs after this season.

Maybe adding players at cornerback and safety who look like they have a chance to be very good doesn’t generate the interest other positions would, but ultimately Poles needed good players, period. I think he did that with those two picks. How’s that for something that looks like it will work out?

What are your thoughts on the Teven Jenkins situation? Do you honestly believe cutting Charles Leno was a mistake after they drafted Jenkins? — @just_acy

This isn’t a good situation for the player or the team. Jenkins has participated in a grand total of one training camp practice since being drafted in the second round in 2021. His back injury sidelined him last summer, and we haven’t seen him this year since the initial practice on July 28. All coach Matt Eberflus has said is that Jenkins is day to day and working with the training staff. But we haven’t seen Jenkins on the field observing practices like some players who are working through injuries.

Jenkins performed poorly when he was on the field last season, and that isn’t a complete surprise considering he missed all of training camp and the preseason and had very little work in full pads. He might not be an ideal scheme fit for what the Bears are looking to do offensively. NFL Media reported the Bears are taking calls on Jenkins, and with that out there publicly, the next step very well could be a separation for the parties. The Bears wouldn’t get anything close to what they invested in Jenkins if they trade him. My guess is the best-case scenario would be a sixth-round pick, especially if Jenkins is dealing with an injury.

Do I believe the Bears made an error in cutting Leno? Yes, I do. Leno had his worst season as a pro in 2020, and I get why many felt the team made the right move in releasing him. He played much better last season in Washington, leading to a three-year, $37 million extension from the Commanders this spring. Leno is a middle-tier left tackle, and the Bears did not have that last season and probably won’t this year. Jason Peters helped the Bears get through last season, but he was wearing down at the end of the season and there’s a reason he’s without a team right now.

Would the Bears have been in great shape if they had signed Trent Williams in free agency in 2021 as they attempted? Sure. That would have been a huge upgrade. Williams remained with the San Francisco 49ers, and the Bears tried to get better and create some cap savings and it simply didn’t work out. Now they have a bridge player to line up at left tackle. I expect Riley Reiff to start the season there. Who knows? Maybe rookie Braxton Jones will earn time at the position at some point this season. But there’s a good chance left tackle will be a question mark for the Bears in the next offseason, meaning they would be another year removed from Leno without finding an upgrade.

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Is Roquan Smith really hurt? — @treyroyal3

I don’t believe he is dealing with an injury, but that’s only an opinion as the team has been super sketchy about Smith for reasons that don’t make a lot of sense to me.

Here is what defensive coordinator Alan Williams said earlier this week:

“When he gets off of PUP (the physically unable to perform list) — and he’s working with Ryan (Poles) to get that done — we’ll see what happens and it’s day by day. And when it happens, we’ll make our adjustment and plug and play. The big thing while he’s on PUP is to do a good job to stay in it mentally, which he’s doing.”

If you’re trying to read into what Williams said, Smith is working with the GM, not the training staff. With any luck, the Bears will have a happy resolution to this sooner rather than later.

How is Larry Borom looking? How does the staff feel about him? — @mosconml

Actions speak louder than words, and Borom has taken the vast majority of the reps with the first team at right tackle. The Bears have had only one practice in full pads, and they mixed things up a little Tuesday and had Riley Reiff play some right tackle with Braxton Jones at left tackle. That being said, Borom has to be the favorite to be the Week 1 starting right tackle.

How are camp crowd sizes at Lake Forest compared to Bourbonnais? — @mikemichalski7

The Bears are limited by the footprint of their facility at Halas Hall, so the capacity is about 1,500 fans. Crowds have appeared a little bigger than last year, when the team probably discovered many of the distributed tickets went unused. There was a ton more space at Olivet Nazarene University, and back when the team was winning — and after that, when Jay Cutler was acquired — weekend crowds would approach or exceed 10,000 fans.

What’s the over/under on how many players not currently on the roster are on the 53 on opening day? Five? Seven? 10? — @btcampbell34

That’s a difficult question to answer because we don’t know if injuries will create needs and the team has no way of knowing what will be available on the waiver wire. A better figure is probably 3½. I expect the team to be aggressive on the waiver wire throughout the season, too, not just when cuts are made leaguewide.

The D-line looks very thin with minimal depth. Are any of the rookies likely to make the rotation inside? — @speelmaned

This is a good question and one reason I would definitely keep an eye on the defensive line for possible additions between now and the season opener Sept. 11. Angelo Blackson has been sidelined for three consecutive practices with an unknown issue, and it gets even thinner with him out. Khyiris Tonga, last year’s seventh-round pick, has a chance to carve out a role. The only rookie in the mix at tackle is Micah Dew-Treadway, the former Notre Dame player who finished his college career at Minnesota. He has a good chance to stick, especially if he performs well in the preseason. At end, fifth-round pick Dominique Robinson has caught the attention of coaches early on. Sam Kamara and Charles Snowden are also in the mix for roster spots. Matt Eberflus preferred to play his linemen in waves in Indianapolis, so the Bears will want to carry as many as nine on the 53-man roster.

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Most likely starting linebackers if the Roquan Smith situation doesn’t get resolved before Week 1? — @gavinsmyth99

As Matt Eberflus said, the situation at linebacker creates opportunities for others, and we’ve seen Matthew Adams and Joe Thomas get a lot of reps with the starters. Adams had a nice pass breakup defending Cole Kmet in one-on-one drills in the red zone. My guess is Adams will be the starter at strong-side linebacker, but he could find himself playing on the weak side if Smith misses time. I’d be pretty surprised if Smith isn’t on the field in Week 1. There is a lot of time between now and then, and missing regular-season games would not serve him well.