Bears believe they deserve compensatory picks for Cunningham hire

Here are four of the most interesting things Bears general manager Ryan Poles and head coach Ben Johnson said to reporters Tuesday at the Indianapolis Convention Center as the NFL Scouting Combine got underway.

On compensatory draft picks

Poles had his first chance to speak with reporters since the Atlanta Falcons hired former Bears assistant general manager Ian Cunningham to be their general manager last month. He also had a chance to comment on the controversy surrounding the hiring.

The Bears believe they should’ve received two third-round compensatory draft picks for Cunningham’s hiring as part of the NFL’s Rooney Rule. Teams usually receive two third-round compensatory picks, one each in the next two drafts, for developing a minority executive who received a promotion.

But to the Bears’ surprise, they won’t receive the picks because the NFL views new Falcons president Matt Ryan as the franchise’s leader.

“I’m really happy for him,” Poles said in Indianapolis. “How we do that and why we do that has nothing to do with compensation whatsoever. I want to make that very clear. There’s a set of rules that has been put in place that I think can be applied to this situation. So we have communicated through the right channels. We’ll see what happens going forward.”

Cunningham said he also believes the Bears should get draft picks for his hiring.

“It was always my interpretation that if a general manager gets hired, that team would receive two third round picks,” Cunningham said. “I’m a general manager, I was hired. I would think they would get two third-round picks. I don’t know the wording of it. That’s just my perspective.”

Poles didn’t have a timeline for when the team will get clarity on the situation. No one from the NFL office has called Poles to talk about the issue. The draft is set to take place from April 23-25.

It’s a process Poles called “a little strange.” He believes a team should want to develop staff regardless of the color of their skin. But he also understands why the rule is in place.

“It’s just a little odd,” Poles said. “But if at the end of the day, they think that’s what is best to help incentivize, then that’s what they want to do.”

On balancing the salary cap

The Bears need to make tough roster decisions to get under the salary cap. Chicago entered the offseason in the bottom 10 for cap space and will need to create more room if they want to improve their roster.

The Bears already released linebacker Amen Ogbongbemiga to create salary cap space. There are a few other candidates who could eventually become cap casualties in the coming weeks.

Poles was open to the possibility of restructuring some players’ deals to create cap relief now. But he warned about creating future problems to solve current ones.

“There’s philosophical things that we believe in, in terms of not getting to this place where we’re kicking the can down the road on a bunch of guys, and then at some point you got to pay that bill,” Poles said. “And you don’t want that to be the reason why you’re not flexible and able to do unique things or take advantage of opportunities with your roster.”

Poles and the Bears are in an interesting spot. Quarterback Caleb Williams and some of the younger offensive talent like wide receivers Rome Odunze and Luther Burden III and tight end Colston Loveland are all on rookie contracts, which would normally invite teams to spend elsewhere.

But the Bears are planning for both the short-term and long-term with their cap decisions.

“We want to stay in that sweet spot where we have maximum amount of flexibility as we move on, not only for this year but three years down the road,” Poles said.

On key roster decisions

Poles provided clarity on players who could become cap casualties.

Veteran linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, wide receiver DJ Moore, tight end Cole Kmet and running back D’Andre Swift could all be cap casualties. Poles said he felt good about Kmet and Swift returning and said the Bears want Moore on the roster moving forward.

But Chicago is evaluating all options.

“This is a unique situation where we’ve gotten our roster in a position where we have a lot of talented players, a lot of guys getting paid well and that puts some constraints on the cap,” Poles said. “So we got to make some tough decisions.”

That could involve backup quarterback Tyson Bagent.

The quarterback trade market should be active this offseason given the lack of top available quarterbacks in free agency and the draft. Poles said teams have called checking in on what a trade for Bagent, whom the Bears extended last offseason, could look like.

The decision to trade Bagent, a former undrafted free agent, would be tough. Johnson coughed and said “no” when asked about his thoughts about trading Bagent. Chicago needs to weigh whether a team’s offer is too hard to pass up for a capable backup if Williams were to get injured.

“That’s one that kind of pulls at your heart strings a little bit because he’s someone that you care about so deeply and he’s a hell of a football player that at some point you want to see him have a chance to do it himself,” Johnson said.

On the draft

Poles will be drafting from a different position in the first round compared to years past. It will be the first time he’s choosing in the first round that’s outside the top-10 — Chicago didn’t have a first-round pick in 2022.

Despite the change in draft position, Poles’ approach won’t change much. He’s looking for the best player available instead of a specific need.

“I know that might not be the most popular thing because people see, like on my board, I have yellow tags where we need to fill in, but at the same time, I do believe — especially in the early rounds — one, you’ve really got to stick to best player available,” Poles said. “We saw that last year. I know there was a lot of questions, you’ve got Cole, why would you take Colston? I think we found out that it helped us along the way. We’ll continue to lean into that philosophy.”

Poles explained his approach by citing the Baltimore Ravens’ and Pittsburgh Steelers’ success drafting late in the first round over the past 25 years. He believes there are times to take a little risk on potential.

But for the most part, Poles plans on bringing in good football players late in the round.

“Those guys aren’t sexy,” Poles said. “They’re just good, hearty football players. So, that’s what we’re going to focus on. I think that will put our team in the best position to be successful.”