One of the few offseason mistakes the Chicago Bears made ahead of the 2025 season was signing veteran defensive lineman Grady Jarrett. While the pass rusher had an incredibly underrated career with the Atlanta Falcons, perhaps becoming a cap casualty for the only franchise he'd played for should've been a warning sign of what was to come. However, there have been signs of life over the last two weeks, with Jarrett posting the second-best pass rush win rate in Week 14 and following this up with his first sack of the season in Week 15.
It was not only Jarrett's first sack of the season but also his first tackle for a loss recorded. While this will excite some Bears fans as possible signs of life, it is important to take this game with a grain of salt. The Bears are playing a Cleveland Browns team on their third starting quarterback, with an offensive line that often looks lost on the field. It is hard to take the production at face value when you understand the decreased difficulty for an aging player.
Still, this isn't to deny it being an encouraging sign or to rule out the possibility that Jarrett could still provide some value. Rather, it is important to look at the context to understand that heading into Week 16, Jarrett being a productive player is the outlier, with the larger sample size suggesting a bust of an offseason signing.
Bears Fans Shouldn't Overreact to Grady Jarrett Showing Week 15 Signs of Life
It made sense for the Bears to sign Jarrett, considering the struggles in the trenches and the accomplished resume of the defender. However, it has left Chicago in a frustrating position with the cap structure making it impossible to cut the defender. Jarrett would cost more as a potential roster cut over the next year than to simply keep a failing piece on the roster.
At least there is the wildcard hope that this game wasn't just a product of playing a soft defense and a sign of things to come. It was encouraging that it was preceded by a solid pass rush win rate against the Green Bay Packers. Putting up solid production against one of the league's elite contenders is far more encouraging than a sack against a garbage offensive line against a tanking team.
Regardless, the point remains that any level of optimism should be very cautiously exercised with the bigger sample size telling us exactly who Jarrett is at this stage of his career. The aging defender cannot be relied on and is going to only show flashes of what he once was. One solid game isn't enough to undo the damage of the early-season struggles that exposed what a miss of a move it was for an otherwise incredible Chicago front office.