Chicago Bears have plenty of free agent options on Day 2

Day 1 of NFL free agency was a whirlwind. The Chicago Bears sat back, for the most part, and watched as plenty of other teams spent like mad men.

General manager Ryan Poles has specifically said his strategy was to mostly target the second and third wave of free agents, so we will see what he does today and beyond. The only big move he made Monday was to bring in former Cincinnati Bengals defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi — a very nice signing for his first free agent.

It may have seemed like there were far too many players taken off the board on Day 1, but the Bears still have a ton of options at key positions of need.

If Poles wants to stick to his plan, a good amount of these players could be headed to Chicago now that some of the larger contracts have been handed out. Just which players, specifically, are still available in the free agent pool?

Ryan Poles and the Chicago Bears have plenty of free agent options left on Day 2.

We’re not going to look at every single remaining free agent, but here are some that should be highlighted when looking at the Bears’ current needs.

Wide Receiver

JuJu Smith-Schuster

Marquez Valdes-Scantling

Jarvis Landry

Russell Gage

Linebacker

Myles Jack

Anthony Hitchens

Jordan Hicks

Offensive Line

Billy Turner

Daryl Williams

Terron Armstead

Secondary

Darious Williams

Anthony Harris

Not all of these guys fit the youth movement Poles is aiming for, any of those offensive linemen might be worth a 2-year deal to aid in the development of Justin Fields for right now. Poles isn’t going to fix every roster spot this year, and fans must understand that.

The idea is to get younger and faster, for the majority of moves made, and go into 2022 with a great feeling about what the future holds.

Any of the above players would come in and immediately fill a void for the Bears, and most of them would give the Bears a handful of years of high-level play. At the very least, signing a few of these players would allow Poles more flexibility in the 2022 NFL Draft.

We have talked, in length, about Poles’ strategy. He is focused on doing far more damage in 2023 when it comes to shaping this roster. Next year, the Bears will have upwards of $130 million in cap space, depending on what else they do this offseason. Plus, the Bears currently have eight draft picks next year — and that doesn’t include compensatory picks they’ll be set to earn.

Poles has been patient, which is good. But, it may be time to spend a little and fill a couple of holes after the big spenders took center stage on Day 1.