Chicago Sports

The NFL’s league year began exactly one month ago. Fans longing for the Bears to finally make a splash are forgiven for thinking it has been twice as long.

Ryan Poles’ first offseason as general manager has been characterized more by what he has subtracted than by what he has added. Poles traded Khalil Mack to the Chargers for a second-round pick, cut a cadre of veterans and decided not to re-sign receiver Allen Robinson or defensive tackle Akiem Hicks. He agreed to add defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi as the team’s major free-agent expenditure, but the deal fell apart days later when the Bears found his medical report unacceptable.

Poles signed just four players to two-year contracts — center Lucas Patrick, defensive tackle Justin Jones, defensive end Al-Quadin Muhammad and second-string quarterback Trevor Siemian — and the rest to one-year prove-it deals.

None of those players will inspire jersey sales or dreams of greatness. Still, the Bears are building, whether it feels like it or not. A year from now, they plan for their offseason to be far more high-flying — because they’ll have lots of salary-cap space, a first-round draft pick and, they hope, an improved quarterback in Justin Fields.

Until then, they preach patience.

Chairman George McCaskey approves of Poles’ plan, even as he admits that it has been hard for him to stay patient in the past.

“If you ask a fan, ‘Should we go for it on fourth down?’ . . . they’re going to say yes every time,” McCaskey said last month. “So you have to balance your reactions emotionally and as a fan with what is necessary to begin from a football perspective — and as an executive of the team.”

As Poles prepares to lead his first draft later this month, here’s a look at the Bears’ slow build:

A genuine draft

A graphic passed around social media this week attempted to dispel the Super Bowl champion Rams’ well-worn reputation for trading draft picks. The chart showed, since 2017, only four teams had drafted more times than the Rams’ 45. All draft rounds aren’t created equal, though — the Rams haven’t made a first-round pick since 2016.

The Bears have a different problem: They’re short on quality and quantity of picks. Under former GM Ryan Pace’s “no regrets mindset,” the Bears have drafted just 31 players since 2017.

Barring a shocking trade, the Bears will go without a first-round pick this year for the third time in four seasons, thanks to deals Pace made for Mack and Fields. They are one of eight teams not scheduled to draft in the first round, though trading Mack to the Chargers landed them a second pick in Round 2.

Their recent paucity of picks goes beyond the first round. Since 2017, the Bears have gone without a third-round pick four times. They’re scheduled to be without a fourth-round pick this year, the third time that has happened in as many years.

The result has been predictable: The Bears’ talent pool is shallow and narrow. In recommending that McCaskey fire Pace and coach Matt Nagy, consultant Bill Polian said the Bears had “six or eight players you could win consistently with.” Good teams need at least 12, he said.

Mack, Robinson and Hicks are gone, cutting the Bears’ number of sure things roughly in half. The list of bankable players is down to linebacker Roquan Smith, edge rusher Robert Quinn, receiver Darnell Mooney and cornerback Jaylon Johnson. Polian didn’t count Fields, whom he gave an incomplete after one season.

Poles knows how much work is left to do with the roster. He doesn’t figure to trade from the Bears’ future stash of draft assets just to move around the board later this month.

In 2023, the Bears will own their first-round pick, which figures to be in the top 10. Poles will use it then.

Tip of the cap

The surest sign that the Bears are planning to make a grand statement in 2023 is what they’re doing — and not doing — with their cap space this season.

Trading Mack to the Chargers gave the Bears, briefly, the title of the NFL team spending the most dead cap money in 2022 — meaning that no one was paying more for players to suit up for other teams. They were eventually passed by the Texans, who will pay $16.2 million in dead cap charges after trading quarterback Deshaun Watson, and the Falcons, who will cough up a whopping $40.5 million for quarterback Matt Ryan to play for the Colts. Ryan’s dead cap charge was the largest in league history by about $7 million.

Only by that standard does the Mack trade seem small.

The Bears will pay $24 million in 2022 dead cap money for Mack’s contract, the most ever for someone who doesn’t play quarterback, followed by $5.15 million for that of nose tackle Eddie Goldman, whom Poles cut last month.

Pace structured the contracts of quarterback Andy Dalton, tight end Jimmy Graham and tackle Charles Leno — who hasn’t played for the Bears since 2020 –so that the team will have to pay about $12.4 million in dead cap money this year.

Poles’ one-year penance, though, has a payoff. The Bears have $123.7 million in projected cap space in 2023, according to Spotrac. That’s more than any team but the Texans.

Projecting free agency next March is a fool’s errand in a league that locks up most of its superstars long before they hit the market. But it’s intriguing that three of the top five potential 2023 free agents are wide receivers — the Seahawks’ DK Metcalf, the 49ers’ Deebo Samuel and the Titans’ A.J. Brown. That’s a position where the Bears desperately need a talent infusion.

Paying their guys

Poles figures to give linebacker Roquan Smith, who’s entering the final year of his rookie deal, a contract extension before he plays a regular-season snap this year.

It will cost him. In August, Colts linebacker Darius Leonard — the star of Matt Eberflus’ defense before the Bears hired him away to be their coach — signed a five-year, $98.5 million extension with $52.5 million guaranteed. The Colts could cut him after 2023 having paid him $46.8 million over three years. A month earlier, 49ers linebacker Fred Warner signed a five-year extension worth $40.5 million guaranteed and $95.2 million overall. The 49ers could cut him after 2023 having paid $42.6 million over three years.

The market for Smith seems clear: about $14 million-$15 million guaranteed per year over the first three years of his contract. Or maybe more. The Jaguars’ Foyesade Oluokun, who isn’t as accomplished as Smith, just re-signed for three years and $45 million. He’ll get $28 million guaranteed over the first two years.

Last month, Poles said that he wanted to get a deal done before the season started. He then hedged a bit, saying that having a new coaching staff could slow the process a bit.

“But if he’s the guy that I think he is, that’s something we have to address,” he said. “I think he’s a really good linebacker. And in this defense with Matt and [defensive coordinator] Alan [Williams], there’s a good chance he’s going to have a really good year.”

It speaks to the Bears’ talent drain that there are maybe two other players the team might prioritize re-signing during the season before they hit free agency: running back David Montgomery and receiver Byron Pringle. The former plays a position that modern front offices have been loath to pay for, while the latter hasn’t suited up for the Bears yet.

The Bears’ build is just getting started. There’s a lot of work to do.

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Ryan Poles has roster holes to fill in his first draft as the Bears’ general manager.Here are the three most pressing ones — and which players might be available later this month, when the Bears draft at Nos. 39 and 48 overall in the second round and No. 71 in the third:

Wide receiver

What they have: Darnell Mooney and free agent Byron Pringle are the only two Bears receivers who caught 10 or more passes last year. The Bears need two receivers — and one who can start.

Who might be there: Western Michigan’s Skyy Moore, Georgia’s George Pickens, North Dakota State’s Christian Watson, Alabama’s John Metchie III, -Memphis’ Calvin Austin.

Offensive tackle

What they have: Second-year players Teven Jenkins and Larry Borom will get a chance to play the Bears’ two tackle spots, but Poles didn’t rule out adding someone to compete with them, be it in the draft or via free agency.

Who might be there: Tulsa’s Tyler Smith, Central Michigan’s Bernhard Raimann, Southern Utah’s Braxton Jones, Minnesota’s Daniel Faalele, Ohio State’s Nicolas Petit-Frere.

Cornerback

What they have: Jaylon Johnson is one of the best young corners in the game. Tavon Young, whom the Ravens made the highest-paid slot cornerback in the NFL three years ago, will get the first crack in nickel after the Bears gave him a one-year deal this week. The Bears still need someone to start opposite Johnson. Coach Matt Eberflus has had success playing veterans there on prove-it deals.

Who might be there: Washington’s Kyler Gordon, Florida’s Kaiir Elam, UTSA’s Tarik Woolen, Nebraska’s Cam Taylor-Britt, Cincinnati’s Coby Bryant.

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Two people, including a firefighter, were seriously injured in a house fire Saturday afternoon in Englewood on the South Side.

About 4 p.m., firefighters responded to a call of a fire that broke out in the first floor of a two and a half story building in the 6200 block of South Paulina Street, according to the Chicago Fire Department.

A person was pulled out of of the house and was taken in critical condition to the University of Chicago Medical Center, fire officials said.

A firefighter who responded to the call fell off the roof of the building, fire officials said. He was also taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center in serious condition.

The cause of the fire wasn’t immediately known.

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DENVER — Cubs outfielder Jason Heyward pored over videos of the progress made on the building that will house the baseball academy bearing his name. But he still is trying to wrap his head around the scale of it.

”I’ve heard 40-foot-high [ceilings], but I can’t imagine what that looks like in person,” he said.

Heyward plans to visit the site soon.

The Jason Heyward Baseball Academy is part of a sports, education and wellness facility in the North Austin neighborhood that broke ground last summer. The academy is scheduled for a soft opening this coming winter, with events and possibly a tournament, and a full launch of after-school programming next spring, Heyward told the Sun-Times.

”It’s going to be awesome,” he said. ”And then there’s going to be a weight room, there’s going to be basketball courts, there’s going to be classrooms, there’s going to be e-gaming. So just broadening horizons here. I want it to be a place of knowledge.”

Heyward is in the process of finalizing the hire of the academy’s head of baseball operations, but he has not yet set a date for the announcement.

”It is someone from Chicago; he’s from the South Side,” Heyward said. ”I think that’s really cool. Super-excited to work with him, allow him to do his thing and put his stamp on the way he thinks it should be run.”

Heyward’s academy is one piece of the 10-acre campus, working in tandem with By the Hand for Kids, Intentional Sports, Grace and Peace Revive Center and the Chicago Fire Foundation to put on sports and community programming.

The academy also is poised to help expand baseball’s reach in Chicago.

Travel-ball teams, for example, are concentrated on the North Side, often serving majority-white communities. There are a handful of top programs on the South Side, including the White Sox’ ACE program, the West Englewood Tigers and Cubs scout Keronn Walker’s B.I.G. Baseball Academy.

Heyward’s academy brings top-tier baseball facilities to North Austin, which is on the West Side. Heyward pictures it becoming a destination.

”There’s so much opportunity to create a place to host tournaments, to host a league, to have a travel-ball team have that as their home base facility-wise,” Heyward said.”But just give all the kids in the community a place to get excited about going to play. I remember what that was like for me playing in East Cobb, being from McDonough, Henry County, just out of Atlanta.”

The drive took about 45 minutes to an hour. Heyward would spend weekends there during the school year and weeks at a time in the summer.

”So to give them those kinds of vibes, just to have them be excited that, ‘Hey, we’re going to the West Side today,’ ” Heyward said, ”to me, that is going to be awesome.”

The academy isn’t just for kids poised for long playing careers, either.

”I want all the kids to get the right fundamentals and, if they love the game, to keep playing,” he said. ”But, if not, we would like to expose them to front-office jobs, media jobs, coaching jobs, all that kind of stuff, as well.”

Along with a decline in the number of African American players in Major League Baseball in the last few decades, racial diversity among executives has been slow to increase. Only three people of color lead MLB baseball-operations departments among 30 teams. MLB celebrated the 75th anniversary of Jackie Robinson’s debut Friday.

MLB is having those conversations, with Sox executive vice president Ken Williams bringing his concerns to the floor during the offseason. MLB is pushing its own initiatives, such as its Diversity Pipeline Program and Play Ball.

Heyward is working with the youth in his own city.

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White Sox manager Tony La Russa’s confidence in starter Dylan Cease against the Rays on Friday night seemed to come with a tad of doubt.

“If he’s pitching the way he’s been pitching, he’s got a chore. They’re a very professional hitting club,” La Russa said prior to the game. “He’s geared as far as the number of pitches he can throw as much as anybody we’ve got on the staff. I expect him to be sharp, but it’s going to be a competition. They’re good over there.”

Cease indeed came through with a top-notch performance that not only gave the White Sox a chance to win, but might have earned him a little more rope from his manager. The 26-year-old right-hander was sharp throughout, allowing one run on three singles and a walk, with eight strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings to lead the Sox to a 3-2 victory at Guaranteed Rate Field.

He became the first Sox starter to get an out in the sixth inning, but after striking out Randy Arozarena for the second out in the sixth with a runner on first, he was lifted after 91 pitches and a 3-0 lead — and received a standing ovation from the crowd of 19,009 on a mid-40s night.Sox starters have a 2.64 ERA in the first seven games of the season — allowing 18 hits and 13 walks, with 33 strikeouts in 30 2/3 innings.

Starting pitchers are being handled carefully after the shortened spring training following the lockout. But Cease looks ready to go a longer distance. The early hook loomed larger when Ji-Man Choi doubled on a deep fly to center that just eluded a reaching attempt by Luis Robert. Brandon Lowe scored on the hit to cut the Sox lead to 3-1.

Yandy Diaz followed with an opposite-field double down the right-field line to score Choi and make it 3-2. Bummer recovery to get out of the sixth inning when pinch-hitter Mike Zunino flied to center.

Until Cease left, the Sox were on their way to tidy victory against a quality team following a loss to the Mariners on Thursday night.

Gavin Sheets hit a ground-rule double to right and scored on a wild pitch in the second inning for a 1-0 lead. Third baseman Jake Burger hit a 430-foot homer to left leading off the third inning to give the Sox a 2-0 lead.

But the offensive highlight came from second baseman Leury Garcia, who doubled down the left-field line to lead off the fifth-inning for his first hit of the season — snapping an 0-for-18 start.

Garcia, who rallied from a similar tough start last season, made the most of the moment –with a big smile as he doffed his hat, raised his arms in exultation and motioned for the ball. It was the feel-good moment of the night.

And Garcia’s hit made a difference. He advance to third on Andrew Vaughn’s ground out to second and scored on Burger’s single to right for a 3-0 lead.

Bummer pitched a scoreless seventh inning. Kendall Graveman pitched a scoreless eighth.And Liam Hendriks pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for the first time this season as the Sox improved to 5-2.

After his team laid a foundation in spring training, La Russa likes what he sees.

“We’ve played two series with a lot of energy and a lot of real good execution. We got beat twice,” he said. “That tells me the fans are going to enjoy the effort and the attempt at execution we are going to put on for six months.

“What the record is … that’s why you play the games. The other team has talent, but we are going to take our shot. They know it. They are not going to back off it.”

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DENVER – The Cubs are calling up right-hander Mark Leiter Jr. to start against the Rockies on Saturday, Cubs manager David Ross announced.

It will be Leiter’s first major-league game since 2018. He underwent Tommy John surgery in 2019 and spent the 2021 season in the minors. The Cubs signed Leiter to a minor-league deal in December.

“I came here to compete to pitch in the major leagues,” Leiter said during spring training. “Whatever my role will be, I’ll be ready to go.”

Leiter allowed just one earned run in four spring training appearances, including one start.

“Knows how to navigate, has got some time in the big leagues, has got a little bit of grit to him, some characteristics you always like to see,” Ross said. “And we’ll bring him in here and give him a chance to show what he’s capable of. Had a really nice spring for us.”

Leiter is not on the 40-man roster, so the Cubs will have to make a corresponding move before his start.

Thompson’s suspension reduced

Major League Baseball reduced Cubs reliever Keegan Thompson’s suspension from three days to two as a result of his appeal. Thompson was suspended for hitting Brewers outfielder Andrew McCutchen over the weekend. The league ruled that he intentionally threw at McCutchen after Brewers pitchers hit three Cubs batters.

Thompson’s suspension begins Friday. He threw 3 1/3 scoreless innings in the Cubs’ 5-2 win against the Rockies Thursday, so his suspension lines up with a normal rest schedule.

Simmons through setback

Cubs shortstop Andrelton Simmons (right shoulder inflammation) had to take a couple days off of hitting because of a finger issue, according to Ross. But Simmons is scheduled to start hitting again on Saturday.

“Throwing’s going well, ground balls doing well, feels good,” Ross sad. “Feels like it’s 85 percent with the arm, so I don’t think he’s far away. Just getting back the swings. We’ll get him some live looks here soon hopefully.”

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A police sergeant, a commander and a deputy chief resigned — before the Chicago Police Department could act on the inspector general’s recommendation that they be fired — for allegedly covering up the circumstances of a 2019 police suicide.

The allegations against the former police supervisors were outlined in a quarterly report released Friday by interim Inspector General William Marback.

The report doesn’t include the names of the accused men or the officer who committed suicide. But a separate investigation by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability includes the same narrative about the 2019 suicide of Sgt. Lori Rice.

The 47-year-old sergeant died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on Feb. 2, 2019. She was with Sgt. Robert Garza, who was driving Rice’s Jeep. They had just pulled into the garage of Rice’s home in the 900 block of South Bell Avenue after returning from a beer festival.

Shortly after the suicide, a police spokesman described Garza as “devastated” by the suicide and “fully cooperative” with the death investigation.

The inspector general’s report paints a dramatically different story.

In a lengthy narrative, Marback said Garza refused COPA’s demand that he submit to a Breathalyzer test and accused two higher-ranking police officers — a then-commander and a deputy chief — of assisting in the alleged cover-up.

“On the night of the CPD member’s death, a deputy chief improperly, and against CPD rules and directives, failed to have the sergeant submit to a Breathalyzer test. The deputy chief was the highest ranking and commanding officer on the scene of the shooting and was in charge of the investigation that night,” the quarterly report says.

“During the immediate aftermath of the member’s death, COPA investigators repeatedly asked the deputy chief to have the sergeant submit to a Breathalyzer test. COPA investigators also made an express, affirmative allegation to the deputy chief that the sergeant was intoxicated, which alone constituted a sufficient basis for the administering of a Breathalyzer test according to CPD orders.”

COPA’s report also made referrals to the inspector general regarding Deputy Chief Francis Valadez’s “failure to breathalyze Sergeant Garza as well as Cmdr. James Sanchez’s attempted interference with COPA’s investigation.”

Garza declined to comment on the allegations in the inspector general’s report.

The COPA investigation also uncovered evidence that Garza was allegedly engaged in a long-running scheme to falsify overtime from January 2018 until Rice’s death 13 months later.

The inspector general’s report also includes allegations that Garza “misused” his “assigned CPD vehicle during numerous regular and overtime shifts, attended to personal matters during work shifts and fraudulently submitted overtime/compensatory time reports for hours” not worked.

The alleged payroll-padding scheme resulted in “unearned compensation of at least $9,892.45” between Jan. 1, 2018, and Feb. 2, 2019, the report states.

Garza was also accused of “frequently” using his police vehicle “to drive outside of” his assigned police district and to go to homes, including Rice’s home, for “extended periods of time.”

“OIG would have recommended that CPD discharge the sergeant, deputy chief, and commander in light of the seriousness of the misconduct each committed,” the quarterly report said.

“However, because the sergeant, deputy chief, and commander all retired before the completion of OIG’s investigation, OIG recommended that CPD: 1) find that the evidence established the foregoing violations, 2) place the OIG summary reports and evidentiary files in each member’s personnel file, 3) revoke any retirement credentials given to the members at their retirement from CPD, and 4) refer all three members for placement on the ineligible for rehire list maintained by DHR.”

The Chicago Police Department responded to the inspector general’s recommendation by denyingGarza his retirement credentials and “referring him” to be placed on the city’s do-not-rehire list.But the police department didn’t agree to impose the same punishment on Sanchez and Valadez.

The inspector general’s report separately accused a COPA investigator of failing to disclose a conflict of interest and improperly accessing the agency’s case management system to benefit his or her “ex-spouse,” who “was a CPD member.”

“Further, upon receiving a telephone call from the CPD member ex-spouse, the COPA investigator searched for the CPD member’s pending case in COPA’s case management system,” the report states.

Marback recommended discipline “up to and including discharge.” COPA responded with a 10-day suspension but reduced the punishment to six days after a grievance was filed.

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An extra-alarm fire on Friday heavily damaged a South Side church that has been a staple of Englewood’s Black community.

Crews were called to the Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, 6322 S. Stewart Ave., around 2:20 p.m., according to the Chicago Fire Department. Most of the building’s truss roof had collapsed by 3 p.m., department spokesman Larry Langford said.

It was unclear if anyone was inside the church when firefighters were dispatched, he said. The fire appeared to begin in the upper rear of the church, where crews first noticed heavy smoke. Flames could be seen coming out windows of the church in a video posted to social media.

“Most of the roof is gone,” Langford said. “It was a very popular church in the Black community.”

Around 150 fire personnel and 50 engines, trucks and ambulances were on the scene, Langford said.

The only reported injury at 3 p.m. was a firefighter who slipped on the street and injured his leg, Langford said. He was being evaluated in an ambulance and may be taken to a hospital.

Firefighters first tried to battle the flames from above, but the truss roof made those efforts “extremely dangerous” and the order was made to evacuate and go on the defensive, Langford said.

Additional details were not immediately available.

The Antioch MBC congregation purchased and renovated the building in 1958 after outgrowing their church at 5129 S. Indiana Ave. in Washington Park, according to the church’s website. The church underwent a massive renovation in the 2000s that cost $450,000, according to the church’s own history.

The South Side church was well-known for its political clout and commitment to community development, investing in several housing projects starting in the 1960s.

The church says on its website that it closed its doors for the first time when the pandemic hit, from March 22 of 2020 to April 4 the following year. The church again closed its doors as COVID cases began to rise again earlier this year. It has just reopened to services last month.

“Like a phoenix, the Antioch Missionary Baptist Church continues to rise and move forward in faith,” the website said.

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An extra-alarm fire on Friday heavily damaged a South Side church that has been a staple of Englewood’s Black community.

Crews were called to the Antioch Missionary Baptist Church, 6322 S. Stewart Ave., around 2:20 p.m., according to the Chicago Fire Department. Most of the building’s truss roof had collapsed by 3 p.m., department spokesman Larry Langford said.

It was unclear if anyone was inside the church when firefighters were dispatched, he said. The fire appeared to begin in the upper rear of the church, where crews first noticed heavy smoke. Flames could be seen coming out windows of the church in a video posted to social media.

“Most of the roof is gone,” Langford said. “It was a very popular church in the Black community.”

Around 150 fire personnel and 50 engines, trucks and ambulances were on the scene, Langford said.

The only reported injury at 3 p.m. was a firefighter who slipped on the street and injured his leg, Langford said. He was being evaluated in an ambulance and may be taken to a hospital.

Firefighters first tried to battle the flames from above, but the truss roof made those efforts “extremely dangerous” and the order was made to evacuate and go on the defensive, Langford said.

Additional details were not immediately available.

The Antioch MBC congregation purchased and renovated the building in 1958 after outgrowing their church at 5129 S. Indiana Ave. in Washington Park, according to the church’s website. The church underwent a massive renovation in the 2000s that cost $450,000, according to the church’s own history.

The South Side church was well-known for its political clout and commitment to community development, investing in several housing projects starting in the 1960s.

The church says on its website that it closed its doors for the first time when the pandemic hit, from March 22 of 2020 to April 4 the following year. The church again closed its doors as COVID cases began to rise again earlier this year. It has just reopened to services last month.

“Like a phoenix, the Antioch Missionary Baptist Church continues to rise and move forward in faith,” the website said.

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We are just two weeks away from the 2022 NFL Draft in Las Vegas as the NFL world descends on Sin City for the three-day event.

For the Chicago Bears, they still have a few big needs to fill out their roster including at wide receiver, defensive back, offensive tackle and linebacker among others. With two picks in the second round, the Bears are likely to find some instant impact players as the Ryan Poles and Matt Eberflus era begins. But who should they target?

In his updated two-round NFL mock draft, ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr. has the Bears going with defensive back Kyler Gordon (Washington) at No. 39 overall and then offensive tackle Tyler Smith out of Tulsa at No. 48 overall. Here is what Kiper Jr. said about Gordon:

The Bears could go several ways here, including offensive tackle, wide receiver and guard. With Gordon still available, though, I’d pounce. He has lockdown traits and didn’t allow a single touchdown in coverage last season. There has been a great history of teams finding starting corners in the second round, and Gordon has a great chance to play early.

And the report on Smith out of Tulsa:

I mentioned Chicago’s offensive line need at No. 39, and Smith could play a role at guard or tackle. He played left tackle for the Golden Hurricane, but some teams view him as a better guard at the next level. He has to be more consistent and work on his technique — he was called for a whopping 12 penalties last season — but the tools are there.

I should note that Kiper Jr. has wide receiver George Pickens at No. 47, right before the Bears pick at No. 48. It’s interesting to see the Bears not going wide receiver in the second round and opting to go with two other needs instead.

This is a deep receiver class and there should be a good talent available in the third round or potentially day 3.

Make sure to check out our Bears forum for the latest on the team.

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