Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles and head coach Ben Johnson met with reporters Tuesday at the Indianapolis Convention Center as the NFL Scouting Combine got underway.

The Bears enter the combine in a different position compared to recent visits. They won’t hold a top-10 draft pick for the first time since 2022 and just the second time in Poles’ tenure.

Instead, Chicago is coming off its first playoff appearance in five years and first playoff win in 15 years. Now the Bears will look to make some roster adjustments this offseason, including April’s draft, to build upon last season’s success and become a Super Bowl contender.

Here are the most interesting things the Bears said Tuesday.

On missing 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 believed 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 since 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 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 would 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 on April 23-25.

It’s a process that 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. But at the end of the day, like I said, that’s not the purpose of why we develop our staff. But if that is the rule they have in place, I think it’s very clear in the situation what should happen. We’ll see what they think.”

On balancing the salary cap

After a successful 2025, the Bears will 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 room to improve their roster.

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

Poles was also open to the possibilities of restructuring some players’ deals to create some cap relief. 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. “I hope eventually to have a quarterback situation, too, where we’ve gotta pay a young quarterback, so that comes into play as well. I think we’re getting closer and closer to clarity on that side of things, which helps us start to build those models to make sure that, again, we’re doing the right thing for us moving forward and we’re not putting ourselves in a situation where we’ve gotta make really tough or bad decisions down the road that hurt us.”

On key roster decisions

Poles provided clarity on players who could become some of those 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 mentioned he felt good about Kmet and Swift returning and said the Bears want Moore on the roster.

But Chicago is evaluating all options as different opportunities might come in the coming weeks.

“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. 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 the league’s been and has been.”

That could also involve backup quarterback Tyson Bagent.

The quarterback trade market should be active this offseason, given the lack of available top quarterbacks in free agency and the draft. Poles said teams have called to check 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 on trading Bagent. Chicago will need 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 heartstrings 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. “And so we’ll always do what’s best for our team and our organization. I do think there’s a lot of merit to having a strong No. 2 quarterback, which he certainly fits that bill. I’m of the mind that he’s probably one of the best 32 of the NFL.”

On the draft

As mentioned before, it will be the first time Poles is choosing in the first round outside of the top-10 – Chicago didn’t have a first-round pick in 2022.

Despite the 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.”