After acquiring eight new players on the first two days of the league year, Bears general manager Ryan Poles spoke to the media Thursday at Halas Hall. Here are six things we learned from that session:

(1) Poles accomplished his objectives in trading for center Garrett Bradbury and signing linebacker Devin Bush, safety Coby Bryant, defensive tackle Neville Gallimore, cornerback Cam Lewis, receiver/return specialist Kalif Raymond, defensive end Kentavius Street and offensive tackle Jedrick Wills Jr.

"There's a common theme with the guys that we brought in," Poles said. "We wanted to get faster and more explosive, and I know we did that. We want guys that are passionate about football, that play our style and our brand of football, and I know we did that. And then especially the leadership, [we wanted] to continue to enhance our roster so that we can continue to push forward [and] be a championship-caliber team. I know we got better through this phase."

Poles reiterated Thursday what he had said at his end-of-season press conference about the desire to get faster on defense.

"That's something I noticed—we all noticed—especially in the postseason and really the last part of the fall," Poles said. "In order to play the style we want to play, we need to be able to close on the football a lot faster than we have been doing. So that was the emphasis going into this, and watching those guys' tape, we answered that."

(2) Poles is especially fired up about adding Bryant, a versatile cornerback-turned-safety who helped the Seahawks win the Super Bowl last season.

Selected by Seattle in the fourth round of the 2022 draft out of Cincinnati, Bryant appeared in 57 games with 34 starts the past four seasons with the Seahawks, registering 227 tackles, seven interceptions, 17 pass breakups and seven forced fumbles.

"When we watched Coby's tape, he was a guy who got us excited because we felt like he played our style of ball," Poles said. "He played fast; he played physical. Those are the things that DA (defensive coordinator Dennis Allen) is looking for, that we're looking for. We thought there was leadership there. He's young. We had the opportunity to bring a unique player in, and that's the decision we made."

After playing cornerback and nickel his first two NFL seasons, Bryant switched to safety in 2024 and has blossomed there. The 6-1, 193-pounder has registered all seven of his career interceptions the past two years, including four in 2025.

"Instincts jump off the tape; his ability to anticipate," Poles said. "We're looking for guys that are passionate about ball. You can see that in his body language and how he moves. Anytime you bring a player in and your phones go off—coaches, front office—on how [ticked] off Seattle was not having him back and how fortunate we are to have a guy like this in our building, that's what you want to hear and that's exactly what happened, so we're fired up.

"It's crazy how fast time goes by because it wasn't that long ago in the draft process that he was a guy that you got excited about. Jeff Shiver, one of our veteran scouts, was on the table doing jumping jacks for him and he's excited to have him on the team now, so it's great."

(3) Poles sees Bush as a perfect fit in Allen's defense.

The speedy 5-11, 234-pound linebacker was chosen by the Steelers with the 10th pick in the first round of the 2019 draft out of Michigan.

In seven NFL seasons with the Steelers (2019-22), Seahawks (2023) and Browns (2024-25), Bush has compiled 524 tackles, 33 tackles-for-loss, 7.0 sacks, five interceptions, four forced fumbles and six fumble recoveries.

Last season he amassed a career-high 125 tackles and led the NFL with two interception return touchdowns and 164 interception return yards.

"When he triggers, he goes," Poles said. "I remember watching him at Michigan. The play style. He plays fast. That helps with range and coverage. If you think about DA's system, it's a perfect fit."

(4) The Bears had to act quickly after Pro Bowl center Drew Dalman unexpectedly decided to retire—a process that resulted in them trading for Bradbury.

The 6-3, 305-pounder arrives after spending his first seven NFL seasons with the Vikings (2019-24) and Patriots (2025). He was chosen by Minnesota with the 18th pick in the first round of the 2019 draft out of North Carolina State, where he roomed with Bears Pro Bowl left guard Joe Thuney. Last season Bradbury started all 17 games for the Patriots, helping them reach the Super Bowl.

"There are a lot of things that are unexpected that happen in this job, Drew being one of them," Poles said. "That retirement was a little bit of a pop up on us. I want to respect him and his decision, so the reasons why and all that, I'll let him answer those things at his time. But I'm proud of our organization for adapting and adjusting, which allowed us to bring in Bradbury here to help us solidify our offensive line."

In seeking Dalman's replacement, Poles met with coach Ben Johnson, offensive line coach Dan Roushar and assistant offensive line coach Kyle DeVan.

"We monitored a lot of different things that were happening," Poles said. "The big thing for us was finding the right fit in terms of what's going to be adaptable and that's going to fit into especially the outside zone scheme, mid zone. We went through that list and what's best for us. You could go into free agency, you could trade. We felt like the best thing for us to do was to make that trade with a veteran center that's played with a young quarterback before, that's very good with his communication, smart, been in different systems. We feel like he can plug in and have command of that O-line."

(5) Poles acknowledged that it was difficult to say goodbye to veteran receiver DJ Moore, who was traded to the Bills.

"DJ is one of my favorite players, will always be one of my favorite players," Poles said. "I knew that that was going to be tough for our organization. I've mentioned this before. My son is a passionate fan of the Chicago Bears. He was not very happy with me at all. I think it was cool DJ sent him a video telling him not to be mad at dad, [because] it's part of the business."

Other members of the 2025 Bears who have joined other teams include safeties Kevin Byard III (Patriots) and Jaquan Brisker (Steelers); receiver Olamide Zaccheaus (Falcons); linebacker Tremaine Edmunds (Giants); defensive end Dominique Robinson (Texans) and cornerback Nahshon Wright.

"I appreciate everything those guys that aren't here did for our organization to help us ascend and get better and get us on the doorstep of being a championship caliber team," Poles said.

(6) The Bears signed Wills to create even more competition at left tackle.

The 6-4, 207-pounder sat out all of last season while recovering from a knee injury. But he showed promise early in his career, serving as the Browns' starting left tackle his first three NFL seasons after being selected by Cleveland with the 10th pick in the first round of the 2020 draft out of Alabama.

The left tackle position is wide open after incumbent Ozzy Trapilo sustained a knee injury in the wild card playoff win over the Packers that is expected to sideline him for most of the 2026 season. Other candidates for the job include veterans Theo Benedet and Braxton Jones, who recently re-signed with the Bears.

"There's a lot going on at the left tackle position," Poles said. "You've got guys that have played the position this year in terms of Theo, Braxton had a crack at it early, was dealing with some things. I'd like to see him get back healthy to compete for that spot.

"With Jedrick, if you go back to early in his career before the injury, playing at a really high level, he's a guy that we want Dan and Kyle to lean into it. We have phenomenal offensive line coaches. Two really good ones that do a fantastic job developing players, so they're going to lean into Jedrick. Spend time with him. We think there's a connection there between our coaches and him. He's willing to put in the work.

"We have an unbelievable performance staff that's going to help him get his body right so he can compete at a high level, and like any position, we want competition. We want guys to rise to the level, and at some point when we get to September, someone's going to take that job. I'm excited to see how that works out."