The Chicago Bears had an active session on the opening day of NFL free agency, including the addition of a much-needed edge rusher.
Courtney Cronin of ESPN reported Monday, March 10, that the Bears agreed to a nearly $50 million deal with a former member of the Indianapolis Colts.
“Source confirms the Bears are signing DE Dayo Odeyingbo to a 3-year, $48 million contract with $32 million guaranteed,” Cronin wrote in an X post. “Chicago gets its pass rusher opposite Montez Sweat.”
Dayo Odeyingbo Has Proven Solid Performer Over First NFL Contract
GettyFormer Indianapolis Colts defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo (left) is now a member of the Chicago Bears.
The Colts selected Odeyingbo out of Vanderbilt in the second round of the 2021 NFL draft (No. 54 overall).
The 25-year-old tallied 42 pressures, 25 hurries and 4 sacks last season, according to Pro Football Focus. Odeyingbo put up a career-high 8 sacks in 2023 and tallied 5 sacks the year prior, per Pro Football Reference. He has forced a total of 5 fumbles over the course of his four-year career (61 games played, 19 games started), per PFR.
Standing at 6-feet, 6-inches tall and weighing 286 pounds, Odeyingbo isn’t a great run stopper. He earned a PFF player grade of 56.8 in that category in 2024, which ranked him 133rd out of 211 edge defenders who saw enough snaps to qualify for a rating.
However, he ranked in the top 35% of players at his position via his 65.5 pass rush grade, which is what Chicago needs most from him and why he’s earning upwards of $50 million over the next three years.
The Bears also inked defensive tackle Grady Jarrett, who the Atlanta Falcons released on Monday morning, to a three-year contract. That deal is worth as much as $43.5 million over the next three years for Jarrett, who was slightly above-average at his position as both a pass rusher and run stopper last season, per PFF.
Neither player qualifies as a splash signing, though both bring competence to a Bears defensive front that needed it against both the run and the pass during a 10-game losing streak last year. Chicago finished the campaign with 40 total sacks as a team, which ranked 16th out of the league’s 32 franchises.
Bears Probably Now Out on Blockbuster Trade for Player Like Trey Hendrickson
GettyDefensive end Trey Hendrickson of the Cincinnati Bengals.
Several analysts speculatively connected Chicago to potential trades for players like Maxx Crosby of the Las Vegas Raiders and Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns, before both of those megastar pass rushers re-upped with their current teams on monster contract extensions.
Both linebacker Josh Sweat, formerly of the Philadelphia Eagles and currently of the Arizona Cardinals, and edge rusher Khalil Mack of the Los Angeles Chargers inked deals on the opening day of free agency. They represented the top two outside pass rushers in ESPN’s top 50 free agent rankings, authored by Matt Bowen in late January.
With most of the upper-echelon talent already out of play — either via trade or free agency — Odeyingbo and Sweat are likely to start the year as Chicago’s two primary edge rushers. That said, Cincinnati Bengals All-Pro Trey Hendrickson remains available via trade and may cost as little as a second-round pick.
Chicago owns two of those early in the round, Nos. 39 and 41 overall. Though the issue at this point would be paying Hendrickson in the neighborhood of $30 million annually over a multiyear contract after already committing more than $90 million to the defensive line over the next three seasons on the first day of 2025 free agency.
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