The Bears are heading into an important offseason, where general manager Ryan Poles has plenty of work to do with this roster.
That starts in free agency, where Chicago is slated to have around $118 million in salary cap space to work with. Poles will be adding plenty of new faces, but there are some in-house pending free agents to make decisions about, including running back David Montgomery.
Montgomery has been an important part of this Bears offense since his rookie season. He was a key component in Chicago’s top-ranked rushing attack.
Earlier this week, Montgomery expressed his desire to return to the Bears, and it seems it’s a sentiment shared by Poles.
“I’ve always wanted to keep David,” Poles said. “I love his mentality, how he plays the game. I told him that to his face,” Poles said. “He’s part of the identity that we had this year that kept us competitive.”
But it’s not just a matter of wanting to bring back Montgomery. There’s a business side to it, as well. Poles wanted to re-sign linebacker Roquan Smith, but the two sides were never able to come to terms. Still, Poles is hopeful Montgomery will be back with Chicago in 2023.
“Now, the second part of that is just the contract situation,” Poles said. “That’s something that we’ll see how that goes and if we can find common ground. Obviously, I’ve learned that you can want a player and the value’s got to come together for it to happen. I love the way he attacked this season. That’s a guy that does everything right. You all watched his tenacity, his fight. I’m a big David Montgomery fan.”
Hopefully Poles and Montgomery are able to find the common ground that Poles never did with Smith.
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