Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles was initially hired by the team in January of 2022. Immediately, he started to rebuild a roster that had, for years, come up short year after year. And while the first few seasons of his own tenure were tumultuous, the patience and vision that he had came to fruition in 2025.
Poles’ second head coach, Ben Johnson, was able to get the most out of the talent the general manager provided. Chicago went 11-6, won the NFC North, and made it to the divisional round of the NFL Playoffs.
Now, instead of trying to figure out how to get back to being competitive, the Bears are looking to take the next step to Super Bowl contention.
Unfortunately, part of that process is going to involve some tough roster decisions.
Chicago Bears GM Ryan Poles is going to have to release Tremaine Edmunds
Nov 10, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bears linebacker Tremaine Edmunds (49) tackles New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) during the first quarter at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Mike Dinovo-Imagn Images
One of the toughest decision Poles is going to have to make is in regard to Tremaine Edmunds. Back in 2023, Edmunds was the first major free agent signing that he made as general manager.
But now, Chicago is over the salary cap and cutting the two-time Pro Bowl linebacker would save the team $15 million.
On Tuesday, Poles addressed the probability that he is going to have to release Edmunds:
The clearest path for the Bears to get cap compliant is releasing LB Tremaine Edmunds, who would create $15M in cap savings.
How does Ryan Poles view the decision he will have to make on his first big free agent signing?
Poles: “There’s a couple guys we’ve got to make decisions…
— Courtney Cronin (@CourtneyRCronin) February 24, 2026
“There’s a couple guys we’ve got to make decisions on. You know, if that’s trade, release, there’s a lot of different options that … or few options that we can go down to create some space. But like I said before, 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. So we got to make some tough decisions.
“And, you know, like I said, when we win games, you create these relationships. There’s leadership guys or guys that were captains that mean a lot to our organization. But when you’re kind of put in a corner, that’s what league’s been and has been.”
In three seasons with the Bears, Poles has amassed 335 tackles and an impressive nine interceptions. However, it is more than likely that he will be playing elsewhere next season.
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