Bears GM Ryan Poles: ‘I’ve always wanted to keep’ David Montgomery

General manager Ryan Poles made a public overture to keep running back David Montgomery on Tuesday — but it’s unclear if he’ll pay him accordingly.

The Bears’ fourth-year running back is at the end of his rookie deal.

“I’ve always wanted to keep David,” Poles said. “I love his mentality, how he plays the game. I told him that to his face. He’s part of the identity that we had this year that kept us competitive.”

That alone won’t get a deal done. Poles knows it.

“The second part of that is just the contract situation,” he said. “That’s something that we’ll see how that goes and if we can find common ground. Obviously, I’ve learned that you can want a player and the value’s got to come together for it to happen.”

Spotrac.com calculated his market value as a three-year deal worth about $21 million. The Bears have the most salary cap space in the league, but that might prove too rich.

Montgomery, who said Sunday he’d like to return, averaged four yards per carry, the second-best average of his career, this season. Splitting time with Khalil Herbert, he carried the ball 201 times after averaging 238 carries through his first three seasons.

“I love the way he attacked this season,” Poles said. “That’s a guy that does everything right. You all watched his tenacity, his fight. I’m a big David Montgomery fan.”

Still high on Mooney

When Poles took the Bears job a year ago, he soon identified receiver Darnell Mooney as a player who exemplified what he wanted the Bears to become.

That hasn’t changed.

“I love him more than I did when I first walked in the door,” he said. “I think he’s a special human being, first and foremost, and a really good football player.”

He and head coach Matt Eberflus offered few specifics about Mooney’s recovery from an ankle injury suffered against the Jets.

“He’s headed in the right direction,” Poles said. “He’s in rehabbing a bunch. So he’s in good spirits. … In adversity, he’s a guy that says,. ‘It is what it is, I’m going to control what I can control — and you know I’m going to come back just as good if not better than I was before.'”

Mooney, who has season left on his rookie deal, is eligible for a contract extension this offseason.

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