With the arrival of head coach Ben Johnson, the Chicago Bears spent the offseason revamping their roster in various aspects. While the biggest changes came on the offensive side of the ball with the arrivals of Joe Thuney, Jonah Jackson, and Drew Dalman, the Bears also made a splash on the other end of the field.
In fact, the two most lucrative free agent signings the Bears made came on the defensive side. Veteran defensive lineman Grady Jarrett, and pass rusher Dayo Odeyingbo both signed multi-year deals with total guaranteed salaries of over $27 million.
Odeyingbo's deal was especially eyebrow-raising. The 25-year-old signed a three-year, $48 million deal with the Bears after spending the first four seasons of his career with the Colts.
Dayo Odeyingbo May Not Live Up to His New Bears Contract
Chicago has been desperate to pair with Montez Sweat with another elite pass rusher. The Bears have been one of the worst teams in the league in sacks and QB pressures over the last two seasons. With that perspective, breaking the bank for a young edge defender like Odeyingbo is understandable.
However, Odeyingbo carries a serious risk of not living up to the contract.
Good pass rushers don't hit the open market too often. Teams don't want to give up their productive, up-and-coming defensive ends since it is such a premium position. Overpaying for a starting-caliber EDGE is therefore defensible.
Whether Odeyingbo is starting-caliber is up for debate. The Bears are certainly paying him like he is, but he is coming off his best season, in which he received a 66.1 defensive grade on PFF. This ranked him as the 54th-best edge rusher in the NFL. He put up three sacks, seven tackles for loss, and 17 QB hits in 17 games last season.
Chicago obviously paid him for the player he could be, but Odeyingbo's deal could be a problem in the future if he doesn't continue his upward trajectory. Whether GM Ryan Poles is proven to be right remains to be seen.