Before the NFL’s legal tampering period began on March 9 at noon ET, Roundtable Sports released the top moves that Bears general manager Ryan Poles should address during free agency.

Those moves included finding a left tackle, re-signing Kevin Byard III and adding playmakers on defense. 

Now several days removed from when free agency officially started on March 11, let’s go back and assess what Poles has done to improve the roster before April’s 2026 NFL Draft.

Technically, Poles did find a left tackle in Jedrick Wills Jr. – a former No. 10 overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft from Alabama. However, Wills didn’t play a single snap during the 2025 NFL season and last suited up for the Cleveland Browns in November 2024, when he played just five snaps against the Los Angeles Chargers. 

Injuries have defined Wills’ career up to this point, as he has only played 13 games since the 2023 season. He underwent knee surgery and decided to take the 2025 season off to rehab and return back to health. Wills feels confident now and ready to compete for the left tackle position. 

At this point, he will be competing against Braxton Jones, whom the Bears re-signed on a one-year, $5 million contract. Jones played just four games and gave up 15 total quarterback pressures and two sacks before he was benched in the Week 4 win over the Las Vegas Raiders. 

A knee injury in Week 7 sent the veteran tackle to IR, and he never played another snap. But the Bears did give Jones another opportunity to compete at the left tackle position after a spot became available with Ozzy Trapilo’s torn patellar tendon injury. 

Poles brought competition at left tackle, but at this point, it’s too early to tell who will be the starter in Week 1. 

Obviously, the Bears went in another direction, signing Coby Bryant to a three-year, $40 million deal. Shortly after, Byrad signed a one-year, $9 million contract with the New England Patriots. 

Both the Bears and Byard, 32, expressed interest in wanting to make a return possible, but the Bears clearly wanted to get younger at the position with the 26-year-old safety from Seattle. 

Byard meant a lot to the Bears, not only on the field with his league-leading seven interceptions, but also with the consistent leadership. Now, Bryant will have to fill the void at the free safety position in both those critical areas. 

“Right now, I feel like I'm going to lead by example, because I'm on a new team,” Bryant said. “But I’ll show by that and eventually be more vocal, and I am always going to stay after on a practice field or whatever the case may be.”

Of the three moves on the initial checklist, Poles somewhat addressed this during free agency. Bryant was one of the top safety free agents on the market, and Poles added him to Dennis Allen’s defense. 

Linebacker Devin Bush will bring his playmaking ability to fill the gap left by Tremaine Edmunds at the position. Defensive tackles Neville Gallimore and Kentavious Street add depth to the D-line. And defensive back Cam Lewis adds versatility to the secondary. 

The biggest question at this point is how much these moves improved the defense. All the additions improve the team’s speed, which Poles emphasized during the NFL Scouting Combine, but questions remain about Allen’s unit. 

A playmaker on the edge wasn’t added, but the plan could be to draft several players to help improve the Bears’ pass rush. The Bears didn’t add top-end talent to address the major questions on the roster at this point, but how those additions perform during training camp and the start of the regular season will provide a more accurate way to determine if Poles did enough to improve the roster.