Chicago Bears: 3 more moves Ryan Poles still has to make this offseason

Ryan Poles needs to sign Jaylon Johnson, Cole Kmet, and Darnell Mooney to contract extensions.

One of the reasons Poles did not exuberantly spend in free agency was he wanted plenty of cap space to sign some young core players to contract extensions.

Cornerback Jaylon Johnson, tight end Cole Kmet, and wide receivers Darnell Mooney and Chase Claypool are all in the final year of their rookie deals.

Poles has indicated he would like to get Johnson and Kmet signed to long-term deals. Kmet had a breakout season last year with 50 catches for 544 yards and seven touchdowns. Even with Robert Tonyan in the tight end mix, Kmet has shown he can be a valuable piece in the offense. Also, Tonyan is on a one-year deal.

Kmet can also help in pass protection, so keeping him around is vital to the offense’s success in the long run.

Johnson has skipped the voluntary portion of the offseason OTAs. There is speculation he could threaten a training camp hold-in if he is unable to get an extension. He was hopeful earlier in the offseason that a deal could get done.

Johnson will be an interesting negotiation to watch. He has shut down an entire half of the field with his coverage skills. The problem is he does not take the ball away. He has one career interception and two forced fumbles in his three seasons. Eberflus professes the need to take the ball away, so maybe the coaching staff might feel Johnson is worth the money.

The Bears also have Kyler Gordon, Tyrique Stevenson, Jaylon Jones, and Josh Blackwell to take over Johnson’s spot as the team’s top corner.

Still, he plays a premium position in which coverage skills are becoming increasingly more valuable. If he can be inked to a contract extension, that means the Chicago Bears have Gordon, Stevenson, and Johnson as their starters for the next couple of seasons.

Mooney is coming off a season-ending ankle injury and Claypool did not show much after coming over in a midseason trade. Mooney has produced when he is on the field and team ownership loves him.

The problem is with D.J. Moore even on a cap-friendly deal, the Bears will probably only be able to pay one of them.

The numbers say to trust Mooney before Claypool. Poles did give up the No. 32 pick in this year’s draft to get Claypool, so he might prefer to go with a guy he acquired.

The ideal situation is to sign Johnson, Kmet, and Mooney to long-term deals. If Claypool produces this season, he can always be given the franchise tag to stick around at least for one more season.

The Chicago Bears have one more offseason before they have to pay Justin Fields significant money if he develops. If Fields makes the leap everyone hopes he will, the Bears would be wise to get him signed to an extension next offseason. That is why getting deals done with Kmet, Johnson, and Mooney is so important to get done now.