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When Bears general manager Ryan Poles was hired last year, he made a vow that Chicago would “take the (NFC) North and never give it back.”
While it didn’t go to plan in the first season of his rebuild, the division certainly appears up for grabs now.
Aaron Rodgers is with the Jets and the Packers are transitioning. The Lions are ascending and the favorites in the division. The Vikings have talent but are due for regression. The Bears overhauled their roster and are poised for a jump. Simply put, the division is ripe for the taking.
“It’s wide open,” Bears tight end Robert Tonyan said. “That’s the best part. Everyone is young. Everyone is new. You have good players on every team. That’s the thing. There is no favorite. And it’s wide open. And that’s exactly where you want to be.”
Still, the perception is that it’s a two-team race for the division between the Lions and Vikings. The Bears are the underdogs, and Tonyan wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I love where we are at. Overlooked, underrated, whatever you want to call it,” Tonyan said. “But they still gotta step on the field because they’ve got to see us. I’m excited.”
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