PALM BEACH, Fla. — As Ryan Poles sized up the work it would take to build the Bears into a winner, he saw clearly that quarterback Justin Fields was the centerpiece of their future.
And in order to build around him, he had to leave Khalil Mack in the past.
It was a bold move for Poles to undo the Bears’ biggest blockbuster trade of the past decade in his first six weeks on the job, and in doing so take a sledgehammer to a pass rush that was arguably the strongest part of the roster, but he believed it necessary.