3 Things The Gervon Dexter Trade Tells You About Ryan Poles And The Bears

You know what they say: turn your weaknesses into bigger weaknesses.

Well, I’ve never heard that, but that’s what the Chicago Bears are ostensibly doing after trading starting defensive tackle Gervon Dexter Sr. to the Atlanta Falcons for Clark Phillips and a fifth-round pick.

The former Bears second-round pick from the 2023 NFL Draft has been rumored to be on the trading block for much of the offseason and goes to reunite with Ian Cunningham, the assistant general manager who was part of bringing him to Chicago.

While the move isn’t a total surprise, nor is it crazy in a vacuum, the concept of making the league’s worst run defense and pass rush demonstrably worse on paper is…a choice, to be sure, especially given how relatively little Chicago did in the offseason to address their defensive front.

But if there are three things you can take away from this move, here’s what I’d say they are.

1. Keeping Dexter simply wasn’t worth it

The NFL can be an unsentimental business. And the cold reality for Dexter was this: the Bears had no reason to keep him long-term based on what he’s done on the field. While posting a solid showing in 2024 under the previous regime, he simply didn’t seem to fit Dennis Allen’s vision for a quick, explosive 3-technique (55.6 overall grade).

Retaining him beyond this year would’ve necessitated extending him to the tune of something like $15-20 million a season. The Bears are in no financial state to do this. So Poles and the Bears weighed the value of him being on the field providing mediocre play on a potentially expensive contract versus recouping what value they could for him in a swap and leaning on what they already have.

Which leads us to…

2. The Bears think Jordan van den Berg is ready for a bigger role

We were all thinking it, right?

The sixth-round pick out of Georgia Tech has arguably been the biggest winner of the Bears’ preseason slate, popping repeatedly on film with a combination of top-flight athletic traits and an always-hot motor that makes him hard to miss.

Now, doing this against another team’s starting offensive line versus feasting on backups will be something to watch. But one doesn’t need to be a first-round pick to be effective in the NFL, and van den Berg clearly fits the archetype of what Allen wants—an aggressive, athletic gap-shooter who beats offensive linemen to the spot and doesn’t allow them to block linebackers.

It’s a risky move given that veteran Grady Jarrett is the only player in that position group with a track record of success, and Neville Gallimore and Kentavius Street are little more than depth pieces. That means the rookie will have to learn on the job fast, especially on early downs. 

But if the kid is as relentless against the starters as he looks against backups, one can understand making room for him rather than parking him behind a veteran in Dexter that you know isn’t part of the future.

3. This is the offense’s team now

To be clear, the Bears don’t want to give up 30 points a game. One imagines the expectation for this year is no different than any other: get stops, keep teams out of the end zone. 

But in practical terms, this defense is leaving a lot to good execution and takeaway luck, which they benefited a ton from last season. The reality: they’re probably going to give up some points this season.

It’s going to be the offense’s job to pick up the slack. 

They have the horses to do it. That much is for sure. Caleb Williams will continue his ascension into being one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks this season. The likes of Colston Loveland and Luther Burden III are primed to become stars. And Ben Johnson’s balance of creative passing concepts and dedication to pounding opposing defenses into the ground with his run game has proven for several years in a row now to be successful. (The latter, in particular, will be important to saving the defense’s stamina.)

Poles, Johnson, and Allen have no doubt discussed the full-team implications of sending Dexter out of town and how they’re going to work around it. If the Bears are able to control the football effectively on offense, opposing offenses will have fewer chances to expose the defense. Plus, adding cornerback depth for a team with several injury question marks at the position, as well as future draft ammo, is useful.

Hopefully, they’re right and that this skeleton crew is enough to get them to more home playoff games.