As so often happens with successful teams, the Bears had to fight off teams poaching players from their roster, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. Gone are S Adrian Amos and slot CB Bryce Callahan, as well as defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, which could be Chicago’s biggest loss. But the Bears did do a decent job of finding cheap replacements for the guys they did lose. HaHa Clinton-Dix and Buster Skrine can do adequate impressions of Amos and Callahan. And after trading away RB Jordan Howard and losing G Eric Kush, the Bears managed to find cheaper replacements in David Montgomery and Ted Larsen. Chicago may not be any better on paper, but it certainly didn’t get worse this offseason, which can be considered a small victory.

Notable draft picks: RB David Montgomery, WR Riley Ridley, CB Duke Shelley

Key acquisitions/re-signings: S HaHa Clinton-Dix, CB Buster Skrine, G Ted Larsen, RB Mike Davis, WR Cordarrelle Patterson, OLB Aaron Lynch*

Losses: S Adrian Amos, CB Bryce Callahan, G Eric Kush, RB Jordan Howard

*Re-signed with team

Without a lot of cap money or draft capital to work with, and several key pieces slated for free agency, GM Ryan Pace had his work cut out for him this offseason. Considering the resources he had at his disposal, you couldn’t have reasonably expected him to do a better job than he did. The depth chart is just as strong as it was a year ago, and there are plenty of reasons to expect the team to be even better in 2019. Mitchell Trubisky development being at the top of that list.

Callahan and Amos will be missed, but Skrine is a solid slot corner and it’s not like the Bears could have banked on Callahan repeating the success he enjoyed in 2018, as performance in the slot is volatile year-to-year. Skrine could very well perform at the same level and he’ll cost a fraction of the price Denver paid for Callahan. And don’t sleep on Day 3 draft pick Duke Shelley, the most underrated cornerback prospect in the class.

Fangio is the far bigger loss for the Bears. The Bears replaced him with Chuck Pagano, who is a fine defensive coordinator himself but does not have the record of success Fangio boasts. There is already reason to believe Chicago’s defense will take a step back — defensive performance isn’t stable — but Fangio’s departure almost guarantees it.

If that does happen, the fate of Chicago’s season rests on the development of Trubisky. He just has to be better in 2019 because his supporting cast largely stayed the same. Montgomery for Howard is a like-for-like change, and … that’s really the only major difference between last year’s offense and the 2019 version. That’s not necessarily a bad thing going into Year 2 of the Matt Nagy era.

Grade: B