Ryan Poles shares thoughts on Smith, Claypool trades

Poles revealed that the Bears gave Smith a final offer before the start of the season. Convinced that agreeing to a long-term extension was unlikely, Poles felt it was in the team's best interest to acquire assets for Smith instead of letting him walk after the season and getting nothing in return.

"The reality of it is that you have to ask yourself a question: 'Are we ever going to find that middle ground?' And from our previous conversations, you gather that information and it felt like it was highly unlikely," Poles said.

"So then are you able to then take the opportunity to enhance your roster now? Or are you OK that he walks away and we can't use some of that to enhance our roster? That's what it came down to and I felt like we had to move forward at that time."

Losing Smith—the NFL's leading tackler and a two-time second-team All-Pro—is obviously a blow to the defense. But Poles' expectations for the unit remain the same.

"I don't think that's ever OK to take a step back," he said. "You're going to have to rely on players to step up and other leaders on the team to make more plays."

The addition of Klein should help. He arrives having appeared in 136 NFL games with 81 starts over 10 NFL seasons with the Panthers (2013-16), Saints (2017-19), Bills (2020-21) and Ravens (2022). The Iowa State product has registered 454 tackles, 44 tackles-for-loss, 15.5 sacks, eight forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries and four interceptions, one of which he returned for a TD.

"Having A.J. Klein brings a veteran presence to the linebacker room that can help us moving forward," Poles said. "He'll be important to us."

Following their two trades Tuesday, the Bears have the following eight picks in the 2023 draft:

Round 1Round 2 (from Ravens)Round 3Round 4Round 4 (from Eagles)Round 5Round 5 (from Ravens)Round 7

The Bears traded their 2023 sixth-round pick to the Dolphins last October in exchange for receiver/return specialist Jakeem Grant. They obtained a 2023 sixth-round selection from the Chargers in March as part of a package for outside linebacker Khalil Mack, but they sent that choice to the Chargers in exchange for back-to-back picks in the seventh round of this year's draft that they spent on safety Elijah Hicks at No. 254 and punter Trenton Gill at No. 255.