With Ben Johnson taking over as the new head coach of the Chicago Bears, the team made a concerted effort to upgrade the trenches on both sides of the ball in free agency.
The Bears signed veteran center Drew Dalman and defensive tackle Grady Jarrett to three-year deals, while also acquiring Jonah Jackson and Joe Thuney in trades. Those moves should help the Bears immediately, especially on offense, as Caleb Williams was under intense pressure in his rookie season.
As for the Bears’ defense, Jarrett will help solidify the middle of the line. However, the team still needed another pass rusher opposite of Montez Sweat. Chicago made sure to fill that void as well, but fans were shocked at who they signed.
The Bears signed former Indianapolis Colts pass rusher Dayo Odeyingbo to a three-year, $48 million deal, which included $32 million guaranteed.
It was surprising to see the Bears give Odeyingbo a large contract based on his low sack total over his four-year NFL career (16.5 sacks). Last season with the Colts, the 6-foot-6 defensive end had 31 combined tackles, 19 quarterback pressures, 17 quarterback hits, three sacks, two forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery.
While he did not get many sacks last year, Bears fans hope that those pressure numbers will translate into sacks this upcoming season.
However, there are still some question marks surrounding Odeyingbo’s fit in the Bears’ scheme after OTAs and mandatory minicamp.
According to Adam Jahns of The Athletic, the veteran defender sat out of Chicago’s minicamp practices, which opened up opportunities for Dominique Robinson. For many Bears fans, they likely expected to hear more about what Odeyingbo was doing at the offseason workouts.
Instead, Bears fans will have to wait for training camp, which will be the first test for a lot of the new players on the roster. That said, Odeyingbo has a lot of pressure on his shoulders heading into this season due to his contract and low sack numbers in Indy.
If the veteran defensive end can’t rack up more than five sacks this season, especially playing with Montez Sweat and Jarrett, his deal will look like a massive disappointment.