The Chicago Bears have a May 1 deadline looming on right tackle Darnell Wright’s fifth-year option, but the real question isn’t whether they’ll pick it up (spoiler alert: they will) — it’s how quickly they’ll get a long-term extension done.
Wright, still just 24 years old, has started 49 games since being selected 10th overall out of Tennessee in the 2023 NFL Draft. He was general manager Ryan Poles’ first-ever first-round pick, and in three seasons, he’s gone from a raw yet physically gifted rookie to a second-team All-Pro and one of the most dependable right tackles in football.
Insider Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune thinks the Bears are going to pick up Wright’s fifth-year option, projected at $20.5 million, and then begin working toward a multiyear extension beyond 2027.
“After the draft, the team will assess which potential spots they’d like to fill on the 90-man roster and survey which veterans other teams might cut loose,” Biggs wrote on April 15, before breaking it down further.
Darnell Wright Contract Extension Update: Bears Need to Find More Money
GettyWhen will thr Chicago Bears give offensive lineman Darnell Wright a new contract extension?
“I’d expect the next news to drop regarding Wright will be an announcement that the team has picked up the fifth-year option in his contract for 2028,” Biggs noted, adding: “It will be expensive to sign Wright to a multiyear extension, and that’s the kind of deal that will require some time and probably some cap space. With a base salary of only $1.145 million this season, it’s impossible for the Bears to lower Wright’s current cap hit and extend him with the kind of contract he’ll be hunting.”
After starting 33 games over his first two seasons, Wright broke out in a big way last year.
He earned an 81.4 overall PFF grade, which ranked 14th among all offensive tackles, but it can easily be argued he’s among the top 5 at his position. His run-blocking grade of 85.6 ranked sixth amongst 89 qualifying tackles. ESPN’s Pass Block Win Rate metrics have him ranked fourth in the league at 95%. He allowed just three 3 sacks and 19 total pressures across 1,074 snaps last year.
And perhaps most remarkably, he did all of this while playing the majority of the season with a torn UCL in his right elbow. Wright chose to let it scar over and kept playing. He missed just one game all season. That’s the epitome of toughness and durability.
What Might Wright’s Next Deal Cost Chicago?
So, what might Wright’s contract extension look like? Per OTC, Buccaneers right tackle Tristan Wirfs’ five-year, $140.6 million deal ($28.1 million APY) is the current benchmark for the position, with Lions tackle Penei Sewell’s four-year, $112 million extension ($28 million APY) second behind that.
Wright’s current cap hit of just $6.67 million represents a fraction of his actual value, and it remains to be seen whether he’ll ink a deal that surpasses what either Wirfs or Sewell make. There’s little doubt the Bears will ink him to a new deal, but that could happen after the 2026 season, as money isn’t something the Bears have much of right now.
Chicago currently ranks dead last in cap space with just over $200,000, and that’s not enough to extend anyone. It’s possible the team restructures a few deals and clears some space, but Wright is going to cost big money, and the Bears simply don’t have it right now.
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