The new NFL year officially begins at 3 p.m. Wednesday, and the negotiating window for unrestricted free agents opened at 11 a.m. Monday. For the Chicago Bears, it’s a critical period for general manager Ryan Poles and coach Ben Johnson to upgrade the roster.
The Bears struck twice before free agency with a pair of trades for offensive linemen Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson from the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Rams, respectively, addressing one of their biggest positions of need.
The Bears have 27 players with expiring contracts, most notably wide receiver Keenan Allen, offensive linemen Teven Jenkins, Matt Pryor and Coleman Shelton, long snapper Patrick Scales and running back/special teams ace Travis Homer. Their restricted free agents include defensive tackle Chris Williams and offensive lineman Doug Kramer.
The Tribune is tracking and analyzing the latest developments in free agency.
Monday
The Bears have reached a three-year contract agreement with veteran defensive tackle Grady Jarrett.
What this means: Jarrett was a salary-cap casualty with the Atlanta Falcons, who released him Monday morning, but he quickly found a landing spot. The Bears aggressively pounced, guaranteeing the 31-year old $28.5 million in a three-year, $43.5 million deal.
Jarrett has spent the last decade solidifying a reputation as a high-motor defensive disruptor with a special combination of quickness and power. He was named to the Pro Bowl in 2019 and 2020 and was a second-team All-Pro honoree in 2020. After the 2022 season, he was named to the NFL’s Top 100 Players list, as voted on by players around the league.
Jarrett missed nine games in 2023 with a torn ACL but returned to start all 17 games last season and has proved durable throughout his career, playing in at least 14 games in nine of his 10 seasons. He projects to be a starter up front on a remade line that also added pass rusher Dayo Odeyingbo on Monday. The Bears have shown full-throttle aggressiveness in investing in both lines over the past week.
The Bears are signing defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo to a three-year, $48 million deal, according to a league source.
What this means: After spending significant resources over the past week to upgrade the offensive line, the Bears turned their attention to the defensive front with a top-shelf signing from the edge rusher aisle. Odeyingbo, drafted in the second round out of Vanderbilt in 2021, is 25 and gradually ascended over his first four seasons with the Indianapolis Colts.
He should bring both juice and versatility to Dennis Allen’s defense as a high-energy pass rusher and reliable run defender. Odeyingbo has only 16½ career sacks and recorded just three last season, his first as a full-time starter. But he totaled 17 quarterback hits in 2024 and has the potential to emerge as a complementary threat opposite Montez Sweat.
Odeyingbo’s size (6-foot-6, 286 pounds) makes him a presence up front. With the ability to kick inside as a rusher, he can become a chess piece for Allen in must-pass situations for the opponent. The Bears are investing in Odeyingbo with a belief he can carve out a heightened role in the defense quickly. It’s realistic to project he can contribute at least six to eight sacks next season while becoming a regular disruptor. Becoming more consistent in his first season in Chicago will be a big deal.
Former Bears quarterback Justin Fields will get a fresh start with the New York Jets.
What this means: Fields will receive $30 million in guaranteed money in the two-year, $40 million contract he agreed on to become the Jets’ new starter — and the successor to Aaron Rodgers. Fields’ arrival in New York comes after an up-and-down season in Pittsburgh that saw him start the Steelers’ first six games with a 4-2 record before being pushed into a backup role behind Russell Wilson.
Fields set career highs in completion percentage (.658) and passer rating (93.3) in Pittsburgh and rushed for 289 yards and five touchdowns during those six starts. He also passed for five scores and threw only one interception but averaged only 184.3 passing yards per start and was sacked 16 times. He will get a new opportunity under first-year Jets coach Aaron Glenn and offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand.
After three flash-filled but inconsistent seasons with the Bears, Fields was traded to the Steelers last spring. The Bears got back a 2025 sixth-round draft pick, which they traded last week to the Los Angeles Rams for veteran guard Jonah Jackson.
The Bears are signing center Drew Dalman to a three-year, $42 million deal, a league source confirmed.
What this means: The Bears didn’t wait long to make a big splash in the free-agency waters, zeroing in on the top available center and reaching a deal in the first half-hour of the NFL’s negotiating window.
Dalman, 26, just reached the end of his rookie contract with the Atlanta Falcons and is heralded as a smart, steady lineman who can be an asset as a run blocker. He started 40 games over the last three seasons. He missed eight in the middle of last season with an ankle injury that sent him to injured reserve, but he returned in December and finished the season strong.
Dalman’s contract includes $28 million in guaranteed money and continues the aggressive efforts of general manager Ryan Poles and coach Ben Johnson to rebuild the offensive line in front of second-year quarterback Caleb Williams. In the last week, the Bears have added three starters to the interior with the Dalman deal coming on the heels of trades for guards Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson.
The Los Angeles Chargers reached agreement on a one-year contract extension with Khalil Mack.
What this means: Dreams of a Mack reunion with the Bears slipped out the window Monday morning when the 34-year-old pass rusher agreed to a fully guaranteed, one-year, $18 million extension to stay with the Chargers, according to multiple national reports.
Mack, who has 107½ career sacks and played four seasons in Chicago from 2018-2021, has spent the last three years in Los Angeles and continues to be a respected pass-rushing threat. In 2023 he totaled a career-high 17 sacks in Brandon Staley’s defense. Last season, after Jim Harbaugh replaced Staley as Chargers head coach, Mack’s sack total dipped to six under defensive coordinator Jesse Minter.
The Bears are seeking to add teeth to their pass rush via free agency and the draft. Potential free agents to keep on the radar this week include Josh Sweat, Dayo Odeyingbo, Malcolm Koonce, Azeez Ojulari and Joseph Ossai.
Thursday
The Bears reached agreements on two-year contracts with special teams standouts Josh Blackwell and Amen Ogbongbemiga, according to league sources.
What this means: Special teams coordinator Richard Hightower, a holdover from Matt Eberflus’ coaching staff, will retain two of his most trusted and valued contributors. The Bears announced both extensions later Thursday.
Ogbongbemiga joined the Bears on a one-year free-agent deal last spring and logged 366 snaps on special teams, second on the team behind fellow linebacker Jack Sanborn.
Blackwell, whom the Bears claimed off waivers at the end of the 2022 preseason when he was an undrafted rookie, has been a high-level special teams contributor for the last three seasons. He made one start at cornerback last season and was a reliable reserve in the secondary when called upon. He had his first career interception off Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence during the Bears’ Week 6 blowout victory in London.
The Bears are signing veteran tight end Durham Smythe to a one-year deal, a league source told the Tribune.
What this means: Released by the Miami Dolphins last month, Smythe has found a new home at Halas Hall in a mini-reunion with Ben Johnson. The two overlapped in Miami for one season in 2018 when Johnson was the Dolphins wide receivers coach and Smythe was a rookie. So as with guard Jonah Jackson, who spent his first four seasons in Detroit with Johnson on the coaching staff, the Bears have checked the familiarity box again.
They needed to add talent and depth at tight end behind Cole Kmet, and Smythe is more of a traditional in-line tight end whose greatest value is as a blocker in the running game. (He also overlapped with Kmet at Notre Dame for one season in 2017.)
Smythe enjoyed a career season in 2023 in receiving productivity, recording 35 catches for 366 yards. Over seven seasons, he has 132 receptions for 1,228 yards with three touchdowns.
