Bears GM Ryan Poles is happy with a
free agent haul that includes Coby Bryant, Devin Bush
[March 13, 2026]
By GENE CHAMBERLAIN
LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — Although the Chicago Bears failed to land
Maxx Crosby, general manager Ryan Poles came away pleased with what
he did defensively during the first few days of free agency.
Signing Seattle safety Coby Bryant and Cleveland linebacker Devin
Bush upgraded the Bears’ defensive speed, a goal Poles spoke about
during the NFL scouting combine.
Bryant comes in as All-Pro Kevin Byard exits for New England.
“Play style, he plays fast, instincts jump off the tape,” Poles said
Thursday. “His ability to anticipate. Like I said before, we’re
looking for guys that are passionate about ball. You can see that in
his body language and how he moves.
“Any time you bring a player in and your phones go off — coaches,
front office — on how (ticked) off Seattle was not having him back,
but also how fortunate we are to have a guy like this in our
building, that’s what you want to hear. And that’s exactly what
happened. So, we’re fired up.”
Bryant, a 6-foot-1, 193-pound former cornerback, has seven
interceptions over the last two seasons. He relishes the chance to
play in defensive coordinator Dennis Allen’s system.
“I’m just scratching the surface,” Bryant said. “It’s only year two
of playing safety. I’m still young, I turn 27 in two weeks. I would
say that’s still young. But definitely, just I’m excited to be here.
“Like I said, I feel like the (Seattle) coaching staff has
definitely prepared me to be not just a better player, but just a
better leader for the room, and for the team as well, so I’m
excited.”
Bush had three interceptions last year and joins a defense that led
the NFL in takeaways last season. He also brings along seven years
of experience.
“You know, I’m going into year eight,” Bush said. “Came into this
league at 20 years old. So you can kind of say I grew up in this
league. So I mean, there’s nothing I haven’t seen.”
He pointed out how he practiced against Ben Roethlisberger for three
years and played against top QBs like Aaron Rodgers and Philip
Rivers.
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“So I mean, I’ve seen a lot of things, been through
a lot of different situations,” Bush said. “So I think I bring that
type of experience to this team.”
Poles looked into bringing aboard a more experience. He acknowledged
the Bears’ initial interest in trading for Crosby to bulk up their
pass rush.
“I’ve said before we’re always going to monitor
every situation,” Poles said. “Sometimes it fits and it works with
what you’ve got going on in terms of resources. Sometimes it
doesn’t.
“So we were involved. I mean, we checked into it. We looked to see
if it made sense had, some dialogue. I’ll just leave it at that.”
The Baltimore Ravens agreed to acquire Crosby from the Raiders, but
the deal fell through.
“I don’t know what happened (in Baltimore),” Poles said. “I’m not in
that building. So I just, I’ll let those people worry about that.
That’s not my problem. This obviously is hard. You never have black
and white, its always gray when you’re making decisions.
“So I’m sure there were things that they were working through that
they had to make that decision, but again, that’s something they’ve
got to worry about. I’m not worried about that right now.”
Poles had to make his own tough decision. He traded veteran wide
receiver D.J. Moore with a fifth-round pick to Buffalo for a
second-round pick to create salary cap space. It was only two months
ago that Moore was making touchdown catches against Green Bay to
help clinch the NFC North and then win a wild-card playoff game.
“D.J. is one of my favorite players, will always be one of my
favorite players,” Poles said. “I knew that that was going to be
tough for our organization.
“I’ve mentioned this before. My son is a passionate fan of the
Chicago Bears. He was not very happy with me at all. I think it was
cool D.J. sent him a video telling him not to be mad at Dad, it’s
part of the business.”
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