Chicago Bears: Core players in line for a contract extension

2. S Eddie Jackson

Arguably the steal of the 2017 NFL Draft, it’s clear that Eddie Jackson is going to land a historic contract and reset the market for the safety position once he puts pen to paper. As a fourth-round pick, Jackson has drawn comparisons to former Baltimore Ravens Safety Ed Reed.

It’s hard to project what Jackson’s new contract will look like however, there are a few things that we know. First, his contract will exceed what players like Earl Thomas and Tyrann Mathieu got in free agency in 2019. Both players signed deals where they got more than $25 million dollars in guaranteed money. Additionally, while Mathieu got a three-year deal, Thomas was given a four-year deal.

By the time Jackson signs his next contract, he will be 28 or 29  years old, which means that the Bears may look to give him a three or four-year deal. Unfortunately, if the Bears are unwilling to do so, then it could result in Jackson leaving via free agency.

Besides Khalil Mack, Jackson is the second most important player on the Bears defense as of right now. His presence allows for the rest of the Bears secondary to be aggressive due to his ability to be a rangy ballhawk who is just waiting for the quarterback to make a mistake.

As of right now, it’s clear that Jackson can be even better and he’s set to take his game to another level with the presence of Chuck Pagano as his defensive coordinator. In 2019, Jackson will look to do anything possible to earn a contract extension within the next two years.