The Chicago Bears have used free agency to their advantage since the start of the league's free agent negotiation period, specifically on the defensive side of the ball, agreeing to terms with Devin Bush and Coby Bryant. Both of those moves will help that unit in 2026, but not every signing has been viewed in the same light.
When Chicago signed Neville Gallimore, it showed fans that the team didn't learn much from its Grady Jarrett addition last offseason. The Bears gave Gallimore a two-year, $12 million contract but the Indianapolis Colts may have just taken away the negative attention from that signing, as they made a boneheaded addition.
NFL Insider Jordan Schultz reported Wednesday that Indianapolis is signing defensive lineman Michael Clemons to a three-year, $17.5 million deal, which has a maximum value of $18.5 million. Based on Clemons' NFL career thus far, that's an overpay, as Jets fans rejoice with him no longer being on the roster.
Colts Overpaying Michael Clemons Makes Neville Gallimore’s Contract with Bears Look Much Better
Clemons has been with the Jets for the last four seasons. Mainly playing as a backup, he consistently looked out of place and didn't make much of an impact. In 65 career games (24 starts), he had 119 total tackles, 13 TFLs, and 8.5 sacks.
As his playing time increased during the 2024 and 2025 seasons due to injuries on the Jets' defensive line, his production got worse, per Pro Football Focus.
Season | Overall Grade | Run Defense Grade | Pass Rush Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
2024 | 50.6 (116th among 121 graded EDGEs) | 46.6 (110th among 121 graded EDGEs) | 55.2 (96th among 121 graded EDGEs) |
2025 | 59.9 (83rd among 116 graded EDGEs) | 58.6 (81st among 116 graded EDGEs) | 59.8 (82nd among 116 graded EDGEs) |
Despite those numbers, Indianapolis still decided to offer him a nice-sized deal in free agency. Judging from the replies to Schultz's tweet, it is clear how happy Jets fans are to see Clemons gone, showing just how negatively the fanbase felt about him.
Why the Colts chose to give Clemons a contract of this value is neither here nor there. While there is still time to go before the dust settles on free agency, this deal takes over as the worst contract given to a defensive lineman this offseason. That should make the Bears feel a little better regarding Gallimore’s deal. While the Bears aren't looking for starter reps from him, he hasn't been that effective in his NFL career thus far.
In 83 career games (26 starts), he had 147 total tackles, 15 TFLs, 16 QB hits, and 7.5 sacks. He's never really been a good run defender either, as PFF has graded his rush defense at 54.6 or lower in each of his six seasons.
Gallimore may be able to bring some juice as a pass rusher on the inside, with him coming off a career-high 3.5 sacks in 2025. Nonetheless, he received more money than expected, as Spotrac projected his market value to be a one-year, $2.2 million deal, but Chicago clearly thought higher of him than that.
Only time will tell if that was the right decision, but the contract the Colts gave Clemons was by far worse than what Chicago did with Gallimore.