Watching the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in recent weeks tells a pretty obvious story. They quickly signed Leonard Fournette after he was released by Jacksonville. They traded for a veteran nose tackle Steve McClendon from the Jets. Now they’ve made the exceedingly bold move to sign the volatile former All-Pro receiver Antonio Brown. These moves send a crystal clear message. The Bucs are all-in on chasing a Super Bowl in 2020. No surprise given the 43-year old Tom Brady is their quarterback. So what’s the deal with the Chicago Bears?

For GM who is known for being aggressive in making moves in the NFL draft, it’s remarkable how quiet Ryan Pace tends to be during the season. Now here he is. His team is 5-1 with a chance to make the playoffs. Yet they have a number of notable flaws on the roster. Flaws that a trade or noteworthy free agent might fix.

Yet the Bears continue to remain silent.

People are getting frustrated. Not just fans too. Longtime insider Hub Arkush spoke up about it recently. It’s hard not to feel like Pace is prioritizing future flexibility a little too much despite his team having a clear window to compete for a championship. They have a great defense and solid special teams. If they could just give their offense some kind of boost, they might have a chance.

So again. Why are they holding off? There could be a few reasons.

Must be frustrating to Bears fans to see clubs like Bucs, Chiefs, Cardinals, Seahawks "going for it" while windows are open even without great needs at WR, or RB while Bears apparently sit on their hands? Not buying own 5-1, or really believe they're better than they've played??

— Hub Arkush (@Hub_Arkush) October 24, 2020

Exploring why the Chicago Bears are not seeking more help

Reason #1 – A dearth of assets

Pace might be his own worst enemy in regards to this situation. Part of why the Bears GM is probably reluctant to make a move is because he doesn’t really have a lot of ammunition to do so. Looking ahead, the Bears only have five picks in the 2021 draft as of now. They traded their 7th rounder to the Raiders for Eddy Pineiro and their 4th rounder to the Vikings for Trevis Gipson.

Giving up future picks in the draft is something Pace has tended to do way too often in recent years. He did it in the Mitch Trubisky trade, the Anthony Miller trade, and the David Montgomery trade. Not to mention the massive deal for Khalil Mack. That unwillingness to hang onto more of his picks has come back to haunt him in this situation.

Reason #2 – Money

Any sort of bold move via trade or free agency is likely to be expensive. Not just in draft compensation (by the Bears’ standards) but also in cash. Chicago has somewhere between $8-10 million in cap space this season. That isn’t bad. The problem is looking ahead to 2021. Projections are the cap will drop as far as $23 million. If that happens, the Bears would be $7 million in the red. Maybe more.

On @WBBMNewsradio, Ryan Pace reiterated his hope for the Bears to reach a contract extension with Allen Robinson: "We know he wants to be here. We want him here. When you look, we have a proven track record of taking care of our guys with extensions." https://t.co/53nbbICekq

— Chris Emma (@CEmma670) September 20, 2020

Adding another pricey veteran would eat into their ability to roll over some cap space from this year into next year, which would alleviate some of that strain. That in turn could force them to make even more payroll cuts than they may have to. Especially on the defensive side. To say nothing of the several pending free agents they have to juggle.

Reason #3 – They don’t think they’re one move away

Some people might not accept this but think about it. The Bears have the 28th ranked offense in the NFL. They’ve won all of their games by single digits. Three of them involving massive comebacks. Does anybody honestly think an aggressive trade for one player will solve the underlying issue? That is a bit optimistic.

Nick Foles is a tremendous leader and somebody who is easy to cheer for. One must be honest though. He isn’t Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes, or Russell Wilson. Guys who are worth going all-in for because they’re that good. Foles is more like an Alex Smith. He brings a steady presence, plays efficiently, and does enough to win. Yet the Chiefs never doubled down on Smith. Why? They likely knew it wasn’t going to work out.

Yes, Foles has a Super Bowl ring but he had a lot of help back in 2017. This Chicago Bears offense isn’t anywhere close to that Eagles team three years ago. Adding a mid-tier talent isn’t going to change that.

Better to keep what assets they have and continue reloading the roster for down the road. At least that seems to be how Pace views things.