Bear & Balanced: Free agency fits for the Chicago Bears

The last time Jeff and I recorded a Bear & Balanced podcast we weren’t quite as balanced as usual. The Chicago Bears had just wrapped up the 2021 season, Black Monday gave the Bears’ franchise a reset, and that awful post season press conference from George McCaskey and Ted Phillips was still fresh in our minds.

Thankfully Chicago’s hiring committee came through with what looks like a couple upgrades at general manager and head coach, and with this offseason brimming with the hope that comes with a new regime, we’re in a much better place as fans.

For this 2022 season premier of our podcast we’re focusing on what Chicago’s options are in free agency. We’re less than 2 weeks away from the start of the early negotiating period (March 14), with free agency officially kicking off two days later on Wednesday, March 16 at 3:00 p.m. Central, so here’s what we see the Bears doing and what we see them not doing.

Here’s a bullet point outline of our latest Bear & Balanced show.

• Intro: We recap where the team has gone since our last show and set the stage for how we plan on attacking the show.
• Trench Tribute: This is usually reserved for the Bears lineman of the week, but this time we’ll be spotlighting one lineman we want to see new general manager Ryan Poles target in free agency.
• Sweet Tweets: We’re both active on social media — so be sure you’re all following us at @gridironborn & @wiltfongjr — and we highlight one Twitter interaction/Tweet each week.
• Caught up in a numbers game: This segment has us featuring one number/statistic that caught our eye as the Bears prepare for 2022 free agency, and we both touch on the salary cap.
• The 3 Bears: You know the story of the Three Bears, right? In this porridge-themed portion of the show we usually give our picks for the hot, cold, and just right from the game, but with this being the offseason and this episode having a free agency focus, we take some creative liberties with the section.

Check out our podcast right here:

For those of you that prefer to consume your Bears content in video format, we recorded the podcast on Wednesday night, and you can check the show on the brand new video home for the WCG Podcast Channel, 2nd City Gridiron!

My video is a little grainy at the start of the recording, but it cleans up after about 3 minutes.