Bears general manager Ryan Poles didn’t exactly recoil when asked Tuesday whether he was rebuilding. But he pursed his lips and glanced to the sky for a second.
“The ‘rebuild’ thing is, like, super-sensitive,” he said.
The Bears know fans don’t want to hear the word. The team won’t use it, either. But it’s clear that, in his first few months on the job, Poles has taken the long view in trying to reshape a roster that was in tatters when he took over for Ryan Pace.
Poles traded Khalil Mack, the face of the franchise, to the Chargers for a second-round pick and let receiver Allen Robinson leave via free agency.