with that being said we'll go back in the bunker here after a couple weeks and we'll assess where we can get better as well that's that's our commitment to each other that's our commitment to this organization is is we got to continue to clean up um you know where where we can find little edges that make us a little bit better over the course of the season.

So that's Ben Johnson talking about the NFL offseason and what the Bears need to do.

You know, there's a famous quote about baseball's off season, and it goes like this. Rogers Hornsby was asked what he does in baseball's off season. He says he stares out the window and waits for spring,

which is lovely. And baseball has kind of an early quick push right after the season ends with some free agent signings and a couple of trades.

And then there's like, I don't know, a month and a half to two months of awkward, deathly silence.

The NFL is freaking relentless.

Relentless.

Like the senior bowl is this week.

We're not as plugged in as we usually are because we actually like our team. And because their team played later, which is a nice little treat. The season went a couple weeks longer. Yeah, let's touch on it a little bit tomorrow, though, when you and I get to be back here together. But so the senior ball is happening. And then before you know it, what do we got, the Combine? The Combine is literally two weeks after the Super Bowl ends. That's crazy. So you think about those people that have to go cover the Super Bowl, and it's like, okay, seasons over. Just kidding, the Combines next week. Those poor bastards. It should be you. It should be you. One day. One day. So, yeah, you got that.

And then how about like some of the decisions for these contract situations?

There's like there's certain bonus dates which trigger whether a guy will be kept on the roster or not and things like that.

There's a lot of important dates coming, and that's usually in early March.

And so you have this bridge between the combine and the opening of the negotiation period for free agency.

And then last year during that bridge was when the Bears made some of their seismic moves with the trades to get the offensive line restabilized.

And so it's all going to be coming fast.

The legal tampering period March 9th.

March 9th, right?

And so that's, like, less than two weeks after the combine ends.

And like I say, in that middle period there, there will be opportunities to pursue trades

with other people as you're trying to get yourself set up for a free agency, which the Bears have obviously been very active in in previous years with big headline grabbing trades over the last few years. So when Ben says they're going to go back in the bunker, you think they're back in the bunker this week? You think they're talking about stuff? They're probably at the Senior Bowl right now. I don't know who all would be out there from their staff right now, but yeah, like I saw Ryan Poles watching Zion Young from Missouri today, so he's out there. So we've got, you know, you've got eyeballs out there and then yeah, they'll get back in real soon and get their, they're puzzled together. And what I always remind people is that like all of these decisions, everybody wants to just take a decision and be like make a

decision well they all are intertwined right because you have a salary cap that you've got to play under

and you've got to figure out the dynamics what does this move at this position due to our needs at

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