Near the top of the list of the Chicago Bears' 2025 frustrations has been the performance of veteran defender Grady Jarrett. Signing the interior lineman to a $43.5 million offseason deal has locked in Jarrett for at least the next two seasons. Those two years are starting to feel a little ominous while his performance has been lacking and a knee injury has hampered him through the early part of the season. And now even a week off isn't bringing any respite from the worries.
Jarrett continues to miss practice early in the Bears' bye week.
Grady Jarrett Continues to Frustrate, But There's Still Hope
Jarrett's 55.7 PFF grade highlights just how little he is offering the Bears when he is on the field. Only three pressures and limited effectiveness in run defense have fans wondering why Jarrett was brought in the first place. However, it is important to note that the injury appears to have played a major factor in the performance, and it is extremely early in the season.
It was only a year ago that Jarrett was giving Atlanta a high level of production. While his numbers were declining, he was still showing enough to be a high-profile free agent this offseason. So while things are looking undeniably dim, there could still be hope.
For Jarrett, perhaps the bye week will prove to be the time he needs to get healthy and return to form for the rest of the 2025 season. Chicago's defense has shown signs of life over the past two weeks, leaving fans hopeful that perhaps not all is lost, as it appeared to be in the first two weeks of the season.
Ben Johnson’s offense is starting to click, and the defense has eased into games more effectively, giving Caleb Williams time to find rhythm before turning up the pressure. While Jarrett is an important piece, it's becoming clear that Chicago's improvement isn't dependent on his health.
This leaves hope that the bye week will prove to be the needed reset for a veteran who has frustrated throughout the first four weeks.
If Jarrett continues to struggle down the stretch, however, there will start to be some serious doubts around that big contract.