After the Chiefs franchise tagged OG Trey Smith in early March, Bears GM Ryan Poles probably looked at the list of available free agent guards and thought to himself, "Nah." On March 4th, Poles agreed to send a 2025 sixth-round pick to the Rams for OG Jonah Jackson. Jackson, 28, played under new Bears HC Ben Johnson in 2022 and 2023. He missed most of last season with a fractured scapula, then was placed at center by the Rams after he returned, soon losing his job to rookie Beaux Limmer. He will likely play right guard in Chicago. The Bears will be hoping that Jackson can stay healthy and regain the form he had in 2021, when he was selected to the Pro Bowl.

The very next day, Poles pulled a rabbit out of a hat, acquiring All-Pro OG Joe Thuney from the Chiefs for a 2026 fourth-round pick. I’ve been critical of Poles in this space, but I have to say that this move was a masterstroke. A Pro-Bowler for three years in a row and one of the best guards in the league, Thuney will slot right in at left guard and give the Bears the kind of leadership and winning pedigree that they lacked last season.

When "legal tampering" started on March 10th, Poles decided to celebrate my birthday by going on a shopping spree. After neglecting the center position for far too long, the GM finally did something about it, signing top free agent C Drew Dalman to a three-year, $42 million deal. With the Bears having a young signal caller in QB Caleb Williams, it was huge that Poles was able to land a veteran center to help ease the load on him at the line. In the space of a week, Poles (hopefully) fixed the team’s biggest weakness, the interior of the O-line.

The spending spree continued when the Bears inked DT Grady Jarrett to a three-year, $43 million contract after the Falcons released him. Jarrett, 31, gives the Bears a proven three-technique tackle who can rush the passer and another quality leader as a two-time Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee. The team also signed DE Dayo Odeyingbo to a three-year, $48 million deal to play opposite DE Montez Sweat. The 25-year-old had only three sacks for the Colts last year but had eight in 2023. I was really hoping that the Bears would reunite with DE Khalil Mack (you have no idea of how many times I played "Return of the Mack" when I was in high school), but he re-signed with the Chargers.

The Bears also signed TE Durham Smythe to a one-year deal. He’s more of a blocking tight end, so I don’t think he’ll take many looks away from TE Cole Kmet. Smythe might be TE2 for now with TE Gerald Everett gone, but I wouldn’t rule out the possibility that the Bears take a tight end fairly high in the draft next month. After all, Johnson loves his 12 personnel. On St. Patrick’s Day, the team signed WR Olamide Zaccheaus to a one-year deal. With WR Keenan Allen now gone, Zaccheaus (5-8 193) brings speed that this receiving corps was lacking (4.49 40) and likely slots in as the slot receiver.

Overall, I feel like Poles did some very good work this month, especially on the interior of the O-line. Some have criticized the Jarrett signing because of his age, but I think he’s still got some juice left and will be great for the locker room. Odeyingbo was probably the most questionable signing of the bunch considering the money he got relative to his 2024 production, but he fits the Dennis Allen prototype of a big, long D-end and is still quite young at 25.

End.