Regardless of the metric used, the Chicago Bears surpassed all expectations during the 2025 campaign despite facing injuries to key players in the secondary throughout the season.
Now that the Bears' special 2025 season has come to an end, GM Ryan Poles and the rest of the braintrust in the front office must get to work to ensure that this success was not a flash in the pan, and rather something that Ben Johnson and his roster in Chicago can build on starting next season.
During a session with the media on Wednesday, Poles made it quite clear that one key member of the defensive secondary is high on their list of offseason priorities, while neglecting to acknowledge another at all has left fans wondering whether Jaquan Brisker could be one his way out of the Windy City this offseason.
“We’re going to take a step back and evaluate that," Poles said in response to a question concerning the impending free agency of Kevin Byard and Brisker, via Jason Lieser of the Chicago Sun-Times. "Kevin’s a special player. I have no problem saying we’d like to have him back.”
Bears' Poles Doesn't Seem as Concerned with Retaining Brisker as Byard
While Brisker didn't force as many turnovers as some of his peers in Chicago's secondary this past season, the former second-round draft pick proved he can be just as durable as when he entered the league by appearing in all 17 regular-season games and the Bears' two playoff contests.
The former Penn State Nittany Lions standout was productive, as well, this past season, accumulating 93 total tackles, three QB hits, one interception, one tackle for loss, and eight passes defended. His approximate value during the 2025 campaign of 5, as scored by Pro Football Reference, matched his 2023 campaign as his career-best to date.
Despite his consistent availability for Dennis Allen and Chicago's defensive backfield, and positive play which stretched through the Bears' 20-17 loss to the Rams in the divisional round, Poles has good reason to be more hesitant to give the younger Brisker a lucrative, long-term deal than he would be for Byard, who happens to be six years older than his runningmate in the secondary.
Whether it is fair to Brisker or not, Poles has to take the defender's well-documented concussion history into account when considering what type of offer, if any, he will extend to the 26-year-old this offseason. These are the type of tough decisions that he is paid the big bucks to make, though.
Poles knows what is best for this organization moving forward, and he cannot be hesitant to act on it, no matter how unfair it may seem to Brisker.