The Chicago Bears’ biggest free agent loss was running back David Montgomery, who signed a three-year deal with the Detroit Lions.
While Montgomery exiting in free agency wasn’t really a surprise, general manager Ryan Poles made it clear that he wanted to bring back the former third-round pick to fortify the offensive backfield.
But, as we saw with former Bears linebacker Roquan Smith, it comes down to more than just desire. It is a business, after all.
During a meeting with the media at the NFL owners meetings on Monday, Poles said he felt the Bears were “really, really close” to re-signing Montgomery. So where did things go wrong?
“I would just kind of sum it up by saying players do have a choice,” Poles said, via ChicagoBears.com. “I thought we communicated well. I thought we negotiated well. At the same time, you don’t always know what’s going on in the background, but I thought we did a good job, we were transparent, we were organized and it just, it didn’t happen. I felt like it was really, really close, though.”
Not only did the Bears lose Montgomery, he went to their NFC North rivals, the Lions. Now, Chicago will have to face Montgomery twice a year for the next three years.
“He definitely is going to run with a chip on his shoulder, so we’ll be ready for that,” Poles said. “But I communicated with him, too. Happy for him. He’s a guy I’ve respected since he was at Iowa State, and I love the way he runs. So, it’s all good.”
The Bears overhauled the running backs room during free agency with the additions of D’Onta Foreman, who will compete for the starting job with Khalil Herbert, and Travis Homer.
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