Voluntary minicamp is next week. But before players head to Halas Hall, Brad Biggs answers your Chicago Bears questions weekly.

I know free agency signings don’t all happen in March and there’s plenty of time for the Bears to keep making additions. But given the lack of signings at offensive tackle, is that a vote of confidence from Ryan Poles to Teven Jenkins and Larry Borom to be reliable starters? — @petermartuneac

That is certainly one way to look at it. For the time being, it appears Jenkins or Borom projects to be the starting left tackle when the season opens. Of course, the Bears could make add a left tackle at any time. Duane Brown and Eric Fisher remain available on the open market. I am not necessarily suggesting the Bears will pursue one of those guys — or another available option. But it’s a possibility.

The Bears could also look to the draft but finding a Day 1 starter at left tackle in Round 2 could be a challenge. The team will hold its first voluntary minicamp April 19-21, and it could be a situation in which the front office and the coaching staff want to evaluate their options before considering a move. Stay tuned to what happens on the O-line because there could be more moves to come.

Do the Bears prioritize WR or OL in the draft? — @extendroquan

The short answer is yes. But I would remind folks that just because the team has, say, three pressing needs — and I would definitely add cornerback to that list — that should not mean the top three picks are those three positions. You often hear people talk about remaining true to their draft board with the idea being they select the highest-graded player available. Reality is a lot of times teams talk about staying true to their board but select the highest-graded player at the position they feel they most need help. Or sometimes they inflate grades for players at positions where they have need. I’m not saying the new regime will fall into this trap but it is something that happens often.

I had an interesting conversation with a general manager several years ago and he made an excellent point. Let’s say, for the sake of this conversation, the Bears are on the clock and they have a pressing need at wide receiver and offensive line but they draft a defensive end. That would not fill either of the greatest needs on the roster. But the GM made the point that two years down the road, no one is going to be focused on whether at the time of the draft the Bears filled one of the two biggest needs. At that point, the question would be did the Bears select a player that has been able to help them? If the defensive end is a player moving forward, it will be viewed as a good pick. If a wide receiver is drafted and he fizzles out in the first two years, it will be a poor pick.

The point is you can’t be so focused on the areas of need on the roster — and you can pick out a slew of positions where the Bears need help — that you overlook players with better grades that can help the franchise moving forward. I hope that makes sense and potentially explains why Ryan Poles’ first handful of picks might not necessarily be at the team’s greatest areas of need.

With Tavon Young now signed, does cornerback still remain a huge need? — @engherbanger

It sure ought to remain one of the positions of need for the Bears. They don’t have a starter opposite Jaylon Johnson unless they view Kindle Vildor or Thomas Graham Jr. as a possibility. Young is an experienced nickel cornerback but he’s had durability issues, so the Bears likely will want another option they feel good about in the slot unless Graham or Duke Shelley is a candidate to be the backup nickel.

Young is competitive and aggressive but he’s only 5-foot-9, so he’s not going to make a lot of plays on the ball. He does have experience as a blitzer, but at this point in his career and on a one-year contract, he’s a bridge player. This is one of the positions the Bears are thin on depth and high-caliber cornerbacks are very expensive in free agency. Between the draft and sifting through available veterans on the street, GM Ryan Poles needs to make some moves at cornerback.

How do you think Jaylon Johnson will fare in this scheme? Traditionally in this type of defense, you’re looking for a zone cover guy who will get his hands on the ball and make interceptions. Johnson has been excellent but I’m not sure his strengths match that. — @dawestley

Johnson has the physical traits to play all of the coverages coach Matt Eberflus and defensive coordinator Alan Williams want to play. Johnson can play Cover-2o and jam wide receivers and re-route them and also set the edge in the run game. He’s got the vision and awareness to be a quality zone cornerback and the physical ability to play press man. I wonder if the Bears will move him to the left side after playing him on the right side the last two seasons. Often times, defenses use their best cornerback on the left side and Johnson is clearly the best outside cornerback on the roster right now.

Any new updates on the Arlington Heights plan? — @aidanwahlert_

This is a slow-moving process and Chairman George McCaskey said the timeline for the Bears to close on the property is at the end of 2022 or in the first quarter of 2023. So, until the Bears own the land — they’re still doing due diligence on the project — there is a level of speculation involved. Here is a good primer on all of the relevant updates and questions regarding the team’s planned move to the Northwest suburbs.

While going through another rebuild is very disappointing, I appreciate your insight into the process. One thing I can’t understand is Ryan Poles not re-signing more of the team’s own free agents, several of whom the rest of the league appears to be really excited about. I get that it is a two-way street and that a player such as Allen Robinson probably wanted a new start elsewhere. What I don’t understand is James Daniels and Bilal Nichols who seemed to meet the criteria for the future being young, affordable and with upside. Is this a case of them also wanting a new start or a case of Poles just clearing out the old management’s players? — Scott S.

By my count, 18 players that finished last season with the Bears have signed elsewhere in free agency. They have re-signed two players that were unrestricted free agents (defensive back DeAndre Houston-Carson and long snapper Patrick Scales) and also brought back three exclusive-rights free agents (tight end Jesper Horsted and offensive linemen Sam Mustipher and Lachavious Simmons).

The Bears have signed 12 players that finished last season with other teams, including the recent additions of cornerback Tavon Young, linebacker Matt Adams and tight end Ryan Griffin.

I imagine you would probably feel a little differently about free agency had Poles signed a bigg name wide receiver or offensive lineman to mitigate the losses of Robinson (Los Angeles Rams) and Daniels (Pittsburgh Steelers) in free agency. It’s possible the team didn’t believe Nichols was an ideal fit for a 40 front. He headed to Las Vegas in free agency and the team has made some moves to shore up the front by signing Al-Quadin Muhammad and Justin Jones.

What we are looking at is a large group of players signed to short-term contracts, many of them for only one season, and the hope is that a handful emerge as more than just bridge players and can be starters that the Bears can build around. Certainly it will not be the case for most of them, but between wide receiver Byron Pringle, linebacker Nicholas Morrow, offensive lineman Lucas Patrick as well as Muhammad and Jones, I would expect a couple to emerge as solid contributors.

You’re going to see a lot of turnover next offseason with such a high number of players on one-year contracts. When the Bears kick off the 2023 season, the roster will look dramatically different than it did at the end of 2021. That is the goal and how the young players improve between now and then will go a long way toward determining how good the team is at that point.

Any reason the Bears aren’t looking at Tyrann Mathieu? — @wyld23

Mathieu remans a very good defensive back and he’s the kind of player the Bears should target when they are prepared to compete. He turns 30 next month and is no doubt seeking to be highly paid. Signing a player at his age at the outset of a total rebuild does not make sense to me. Add in the fact that the Bears have top money committed to one safety already in Eddie Jackson and it makes even less sense.

I’ve written many times before that having two highly paid safeties is hard to do and I think most would prefer to sink major investments in at cornerback or edge rushers when looking at a defense. Plus, I would imagine at this point in his career the three-time All-Pro is hoping to sign with a contender.

Any trade takers for Robert Quinn? — @ronaldvoigt4

This figures to be a situation in which GM Ryan Poles is able to pull off a deal shortly before the draft or the Bears wait to see if another team develops a pressing need in August or during the first two months of the season. I have to imagine — and this is just a hunch — that Poles wants to turn any assets on the roster that are not part of the long-term vision into additional draft capital. Quinn is coming off a fantastic season with 18½ sacks and in most years it would have been more than enough for him to be named the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year, an award that went to Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow.

Quinn turns 32 next month and he’s on the books this year with a base salary of $12.8 million and another $100,000 in the form of a workout bonus. All of the guaranteed money in his contract was tied up in the first two years, so that will make trading him — if the Bears go that route — easier.

I wonder if the Bears could get more in return if they wait for a contending team to have a need. In that scenario, some level of risk would be involved because Quinn will have to remain healthy. It would certainly make sense, when looking at what Poles has done so far, for the team to pursue a trade for Quinn at some point. When? Let’s wait and see.

Could the Bears select a running back late in the draft and move on from David Montgomery? — @robingo34407490

I’m not sure the Bears would get nearly what you think in return for Montgomery, who is set to earn $2.79 million this season in the final year of his contract. I would be a little surprised if the Bears invested a draft pick in a running back unless they identify a player they believe can be a real matchup piece in the passing game. They ought to be able to find a couple running backs to sign as undrafted rookie free agents that could push for a spot on the 53-man roster.

Is the Bears’ starting middle linebacker on the roster yet? If not, how do you see that position being filled? — @mike__chicago

I expect Nicholas Morrow or Roquan Smith to fill the middle and weak-side linebacker positions. The team hasn’t announced a decision on how they will be aligned yet. You can’t rule out the possibility in certain situations they would flip. Depth is still needed but right now linebacker is one position the Bears are in pretty good shape.

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