Another momentous March continues for the Chicago Bears as they look to create a new direction under coach Ben Johnson. The roster-building efforts have been aggressive and purposeful as Johnson and general manager Ryan Poles united on a vision to fortify both lines.
With a series of trades and high-profile signings, the Bears added proven talent to their starting lineup. More depth is needed, but it’s hard to dispute that Johnson and Poles are putting the team in a better position to compete in 2025.
As free agency continues, here’s the inside slant on three notable storylines.
‘Pissed off for greatness’
The clip is from 2023. Week 2. Veteran defensive tackle Grady Jarrett is mic’d up for the afternoon by the Atlanta Falcons. And, man, is that ever a bet on entertainment.
Jarrett is nothing if not passionate. He’s a 290-pound package of kinetic energy, a disruptive defender who loves to talk almost as much as he loves to play football.
So when Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love finishes a 24-yard scramble by puffing his chest and taunting Jarrett, the response is far from surprising. Jarrett springs to his feet, stalks toward Love and, to put it nicely, asks him to lower the volume.
Jarrett was asked Wednesday, when he was formally introduced at Halas Hall as a new member of the Bears, about telling Love to “pipe down.” He just smiled.
“Go ahead. Finish it,” he said. “What else did I say?”
OK. Fine. Verbatim.
“Boy! You better pipe down, little (expletive)! You better pipe down, little (expletive)!”
As Jarrett revisited that encounter, a gleam entered his eyes.
“When you’re playing ball and you cross them lines, you’ve got to be able to go to that dark place,” he said. “Sometimes what happens in that dark place, it’ll get a little crazy.”
Which, honestly, is just fine. The Bears need “a little crazy” right about now. Coming off another last-place season that included a dispiriting 10-game losing streak that began before Halloween and lasted until after New Year’s Day, the team needs to change the way it does things. A lot of things.
Last year’s defense bounced through the spring and summer advertising itself as a unit that could become one of the league’s best. The words “top five” came up a fair amount. And then over 17 games, the Bears instead had a bottom-five run defense. They finished 27th in the NFL in total yards allowed. They were in the middle of the pack in sacks and didn’t produce much of a reel of positive signature moments.
The offseason reset includes this week’s additions to the defensive front: Jarrett at tackle and Dayo Odeyingbo on the edge.
Jarrett’s arrival, after he spent the first 10 seasons of his career in Atlanta, should pack a certain punch. That much was obvious during his introduction Wednesday as he spoke with purpose, humor and spirit.
In less than 25 minutes, Jarrett provided a terrific start to what the Bears could market as a fun tear-off calendar of one-a-day Gradyisms.
A sampling, as he sought closure on his time with the Falcons while also celebrating this new opportunity in Chicago:
- “Be pissed off — but not pissed off out of vengeance but pissed off for greatness.”
- “My body is good, my body is strong and my mind is hungry to learn.”
- “People may try to put you in a back-down position or a succumbing position. And you’ve got to take the bet on yourself. I’m always going to bet on myself. Every time.”
- “The best is yet to come. I feel renewed. I feel encouraged.”
As Jarrett filled the room with his presence, fellow newcomers Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson were off to the side enjoying his gusto. General manager Ryan Poles and coach Ben Johnson were lapping it all up, too, drawn to Jarrett’s contagious positive energy.
“He’s passionate about what he does,” Johnson said. “Just talking to him today gave me goosebumps because this guy loves football. And he’s going to bring that element to the team.”
The hope is Jarrett has enough fuel left in his tank to remain a difference maker in his 11th NFL season.
He prides himself on his durability. In nine of his 10 seasons, he played at least 14 games. Over the last six years, he has had only one injury that has caused him to miss time: a torn anterior cruciate ligament in 2023 that sent him to injured reserve for the Falcons’ final nine games.
But that setback also gave Jarrett renewed purpose for last season: “It took me to another level of preparation, hunger, appreciation.”
Seventeen games played. Fifty-three tackles, nine for a loss. Twelve quarterback hits, bringing his career total to 126. That’s a Falcons franchise record, Jarrett was sure to point out with a smile.
“I thought I’d throw that in there,” he said. “Affecting the quarterback is the bottom line. Getting him off the spot. Getting him uncomfortable.”
If Jarrett can produce at a level that matches the three-year, $43.5 million contract the Bears gave him this week, he will become an instant fan favorite in Chicago. His playing style will be celebrated. His demeanor will be adored.
“I’m just hungry for more,” he added Wednesday. “I’m always hungry. I’m unsatisfied. You know what I’m saying?
“I worry about it sometimes — when the day does come that I’m not playing anymore. Because I just feel (the desire) to be able to chase something or achieve something. Whether it’s in the weight room or on the field, on the practice field. There’s just something in me that I’ve got to feed.”
Oh, and Jarrett should have a chance to converse with Love a little more next season. He has filed away that moment from the “mic’d up” clip.
“You better pipe down, little (expletive).”
“I had already chased him down the field 50 yards,” Jarrett said. “I went and caught him. So I’ve got that speed in me too. Then (for him) to walk away from me talking mess? I mean, what are we doing? You know what I’m saying? But I’m excited to go against him two times a year now.”
His sincerity was noted.
Progress report
Dayo Odeyingbo had a certain juice to him Thursday afternoon, the kind a man gets when he has been given a new opportunity to prove himself — plus $32 million in guaranteed money to try.
Odeyingbo talked through his formal introduction at Halas Hall with fearless ambition.
“The vision,” he said, “is championships. This city wants a Lombardi and I feel like that’s the goal for everybody in the building.”
Odeyingbo also promised production and progress as he continues his career as part of Dennis Allen’s defense now with the Bears vowing to showcase his versatility on the line.
Just watch the tape, Odeyingbo said. Over his first four seasons with the Indianapolis Colts, he played inside and out on the edge. He lined up as a nose tackle, as a wide-nine pass rusher and everywhere in between.
“That’s something that is part of my game that I like to exploit and I like to use,” he said. “It’s being able to move up and down the defensive line. To have that opportunity here is exciting. And it’s something I want to continue to grow at and get better at.”
It’s the Bears’ job now to foster that growth, to bring the best out of Odeyingbo after his time in Indianapolis included convincing flashes of promise but only 16½ sacks. Odeyingbo still is considered to be a bit raw, an ascending player working to discover his maximum impact.
Allen will be the visionary who identifies the ideal role. And new defensive line coach Jeremy Garrett, who was on the staff at Vanderbilt during Odeyingbo’s junior season there in 2019, will oversee the daily grind, offering guidance to a 25-year-old disruptor who must do more than simply scratch the surface of his potential.
But that’s what free agency is. It’s a dice roll on promise, an investment in belief. And Odeyingbo’s three-year, $48 million deal with the Bears carries an expectation that he can become a big-time contributor to a defensive front that needs to become both deep and dangerous for the team to become a true contender.
“We all watched the Super Bowl, right?” general manager Ryan Poles said Thursday. “You want to have waves of pass rushers. And if all those guys are getting better and they’re working together, I really think we can affect the passer. Then as a result, it’s going to put our team in a really good position.”
Odeyingbo is a big part of the plan, a player who should benefit from playing with Montez Sweat and Grady Jarrett and has every capability of taking advantage of the opportunities his matchups should present.
At the very least, the Bears will need a better return on investment from Odeyingbo than they received from previous defensive line free-agent signees such as DeMarcus Walker and Al-Quadin Muhammad — both Poles-era additions — and Lamarr Houston and Pernell McPhee from the Ryan Pace days.
“I have a lot of football ahead of me,” Odeyingbo said Thursday. “And I’m just starting to hit my stride.”
That’s the hope.
Asked to describe his game, Odeyingbo didn’t hesitate, needing just one word: relentless.
“I don’t want to ever stop chasing after the ball, chasing after the quarterback, making plays for the team,” he said. “Full effort. Bringing energy to the team. On the sideline and on the field.”
The Bears will be counting on that. They’ve invested in Odeyingbo accordingly. And now, the front office and coaching staff must collaborate to bring out his best.
Back to the future
When the news came across in January that the Bears had hired Ben Johnson to be their new coach, Kyler Gordon was pumped.
“That,” Gordon said with a big smile Wednesday, “was my No. 1.”
Immediately, he felt a welcome surge of enthusiasm.
And as Gordon has begun to get to know Johnson’s defensive coordinator, Dennis Allen?
“I like the way he’s talking already,” Gordon said. “I’ve watched his previous defenses. So I’m already trying to figure out where (I fit) and how I would look in a defense like that. I think there are going to be a lot of special things me and him can do together.”
If those sound like the sentiments of a player who would like to stick around Halas Hall for a while, they are.
“I mean, I love Chicago,” Gordon added. “I love everything about it. The people, the history, the team, the community. So if this is where God tells me to be, this is where I will be.
“This is where I want to be.”
About that …
Gordon has entered the final year of his rookie contract and has established himself as one of the more dynamic slot cornerbacks in the league.
It’s notable that, on the day Johnson was introduced at Halas Hall, he labeled Gordon “a phenomenal nickel.” A week later, as Allen met with Chicago reporters for the first time, he, too, sang Gordon’s praises.
“I have a vision,” Allen said, “for how we can utilize him.”
Ryan Poles, naturally, has his own affinity for Gordon, who was the general manager’s first draft pick in Chicago in 2022. And this week, Gordon added the Ed Block Courage Award to his resume, recognized by teammates for his courage, compassion, commitment and community service.
Thus it’s easy to follow the bread crumbs to a world in which Gordon and the Bears find a way to stick together through a contract extension that would make everyone happy.
The parameters for such a deal still have to be worked out, and Gordon’s camp will gauge the market for fair-comparison deals. But make no mistake, retaining Gordon beyond this season is a priority for the Bears front office and something Poles and his staff are discussing. And with the 25-year-old defensive back eager to stick around, negotiations promise to continue throughout this eventful offseason.
That said, Gordon hasn’t reached a point where that business has taken on heightened urgency.
“I’m not really pressed for time,” he said. “Whether it’s here now or later, it’s just about doing it right and being fair about it.
“I’d be extremely happy if it happened now. And if it doesn’t happen, I’ve still got to go to work regardless. So whatever the case may be, my attitude is going to be positive.”
