Still slow, but below’s a vid of best available FAs

EDGE Za’Darius Smith, 6’4 270, 32

Last year the Lions traded for him when Aidan Hutchinson went down

Za’Darius isn’t the greatest vs run, but he is outstanding rushing QBs

“He had more pressures in ’24 than guys like TJ Watt, Maxx Crosby, Bryon Burns and Will Anderson”

Za’Darius would essentially play the Yannick Ngakoue/Darrell Taylor role as a pass rush specialist and little else, but as we saw with Taylor at least, that can be useful [esp if the price is right]

I suspect Poles is eyeing “Dark Horse” DEs to trade for as well

Your guess is as good as mine

JAY makes a case for Kayvon Thibodeaux, but honestly, I don’t believe he’s big enough at 6’5, 258, he’s about 20 pounds too light. Thibodeaux also played in a two point stance at ROLB not with his hand in the dirt.
Besides, 7 sacks per season? ehhhh

Lambert over at Sportsmockery pitches for D.J. Wonnum. I give the author props for creativity, but Wonnum mirrors Thibodeaux at 6’5, 258, ROLB and Poles would have to take an INJ risk/upside gamble; that being said, Wonnum would be cheaper than more popular options

My target would be former #1 overall pick Jags DE Travon Walker [6’5, 272, 24]; some trade rumors flew around Walker pre-draft. Could’ve been something or nothing, but perhaps he’s attainable. He started slowly with only 3.5 sacks his rook campaign, but has racked up 10 sacks in each of the past two seasons and has played in both a two and three-point stance. The Jags have plenty of cap to extend him, but will they? The Jags excercised the 5th year option on Walker, and maybe he’s not going to be overly thrilled about that if he notches another 10+ sacks. Plus, Jags hired a new GM in James Gladstone alongside a new HC in Liam “Duuuvall” Coen. Maybe they want THEIR guys in a ‘soft remake.’ They seem determined in salvaging underwhelming Trevor Lawrence‘s career and may want picks to do so

In Walker, Poles could nab an ascending DE with an $11M cap hit this year which is more than manageable with some strategic cap magic

The rest of the FAs are the usual suspects, so friendly reminder, HB JK Dobbins and Nick Chubb still available though both come with major INJ history. I don’t believe there’s a knee ligament they haven’t torn between the two of them, and then some

Some interesting IOL can also be taken off the bargain-bin, but honestly, I kinda like where Bears are at there

Bill Murray intrigued me last season before he went down. I am a bit curious if Ryan Bates still has anything in the tank, while Luke Newman is getting groomed for C/OG. At OT, Ozzy Trapilo is the swing, so Bears appear relatively sound at oline all around

Never thought I’d say that