Bears are hoping Tryon-Shoyinka and
Booker can help the team's defensive line situation
[November 06, 2025]
LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — Chicago Bears general manager Ryan
Poles believes he did the best he could to improve the team’s pass
rush without throwing away its future.
Chicago acquired defensive lineman Joe Tryon-Shoyinka in a trade
with Cleveland at the deadline on Tuesday. Tryon-Shoyinka, a former
first-round pick by Tampa Bay, should help make up for the loss of
defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo to a season-ending Achilles tendon
injury.
“All I can say is we made calls across the league and I check up on
all of the guys you would imagine just to see the availability,”
Poles said Wednesday.
Bears coach Ben Johnson said the team was “kind of low in numbers
there in that D-line room.”
"So adding Joe into the equation should hopefully give us a little
boost here for the second half,” he said.
The Bears (5-3) also upgraded their defensive line when Austin
Booker had an impressive season debut in Sunday's 47-42 victory at
Cincinnati. Booker, who missed the first seven games because of a
knee injury, had a strip sack against Joe Flacco when he bull-rushed
his blocker.
“We turned pretty much every stone to find those answers and then,
yeah, the timing worked out where we got the extra week to see
(Booker) get going again," Poles said, "and I think it reminded us
back to the momentum he had going in the preseason. You saw those
flashes and we expect those to continue to come.”
The injury-riddled Bears defense struggled against the Bengals, but
they were picked up by Caleb Williams and the rest of the team's
offense.
Johnson, who was hired in January, said he thinks Williams is
getting better every week in the quarterback's second NFL season.
“There’s ups and there’s downs," Johnson said. "And some weeks are
better than others, which we knew. But he’s in a lot better place
now with his process than he was to start the season.
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Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson speaks during a press
conference after his team's loss to the Baltimore Ravens in an NFL
football game, Sunday, Oct. 26, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP
Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
“The week isn’t necessarily smooth sailing always
but I think that’s to be expected with Year 1 in a new system.”
Williams, who turns 24 on Nov. 18, has been working on his accuracy.
He is completing 61.5% of his throws, a full percentage point below
his rookie year, and the placement of his passes is often off on
completions.
“It’s runners’ ball, give your guys the best shot because we’ve got
some guys on this team that can take a 5-yard route, a 15-yard route
or something like a go-ball, for a touchdown and break tackles,
whatever they have to do to create explosive plays for us, big plays
for us, keep us ahead of the sticks,” Williams said.
Williams did make a clutch throw to Colston Loveland on Sunday that
the rookie tight end turned into a 58-yard play for the game-winning
touchdown.
“I think a lot of the misses per se that I’ve had through the early
part of the season would be just building this trust and rapport
with these guys,” Williams said. “And it’s us being on the same
page, exactly where you’re going to sit, and the body language and
all these different things. So that’s a part of playing QB back
there and building this trust and rapport with these guys.”
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