After the Chicago Bears traded for Joe Thuney ahead of free agency, it appeared like they could be in for another fruitful offseason. Although their impressive offseason moves in the past haven’t amounted to much, the 2025 NFL offseason feels different for the Bears heading into free agency. Then, following the Bears’ acquisition of free agent Grady Jarrett, they’re being called the ‘most improved’ team ahead of 2025, per Peter Schrager on X.
“Bears my early pick for team that has improved the most this off-season,” Schrager wrote. “Grady Jarrett and Joe Thuney are very much needed veterans who still have plenty left in the tank.”
As previously mentioned, this is a portion of the season that the Bears seem to constantly win while following it with subpar play in the regular season. Time and time again, Chicago makes a few moves that excite their rambunctious fanbase. And while it’s good to keep fans excited in the offseason, it’s almost like a Boy Who Cried Wolf situation.
If the Bears have exciting offseasons each year followed by poor play, it could cause the fans to just stop getting excited over big free-agent signings and draft picks.
However — piggybacking off what Schrager wrote on X — these moves really do make a lot of sense to turn things around for the Bears.
In the past, some of their offseason additions or draft picks required some mental gymnastics to get behind. But in 2025, Chicago has seemingly made all the right moves.
By hiring Ben Johnson as the Bears’ head coach, they started the offseason strong, bringing in a smart offensive mind. He was the fanbase’s No. 1 choice at head coach, and the Bears brought him in.
Following that move, they’ve built up a strong coaching staff, spearheaded by Antwaan Randle El, who got hired as an assistant head coach and receivers coach.
Now — going back to Schrager’s post — the two veterans Chicago added could truly be the short-term pillars of what makes this franchise turn an ugly tide that’s plagued them for what feels like decades.
But — in the same vein — free agency is risky. It forces teams to pay A+ money for production that might not meet the agreed-upon money before they play a snap in their new uniform.
In 2024, both Thuney (32) and Jarrett (31) played all 17 games. When signing veteran free agents with nearly two decades of NFL work combined, there could be skepticism about how well they’ll perform in the near future.
However, both of these veterans come to the Bears with relatively clean bills of health. The only significant injury between Thuney and Jarrett is an ACL tear for the Falcons’ defensive lineman in 2023. And while an injury like that could be detrimental to an aging veteran, Garrett returned in 2024 and played all 17 games.
Thuney — on the other hand — hasn’t faced much injury troubles at all through his nine seasons in the NFL.
So, it appears Ryan Poles prioritized health with his crop of free agents thus far, earning the Bears the ‘most improved’ team label from Peter Schrager heading into the 2025 season after the additions of Joe Thuney and Grady Jarrett.
The post Insider slaps ‘most improved’ label on Bears after flurry of additions appeared first on ClutchPoints.
