The Chicago Bears focused the vast majority of their offseason efforts on improving their presence in the trenches. Free agency was the focal point of that push. While the offensive line got most of the attention for obvious reasons, the team was almost as active on the defensive side. Defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo was a signing most saw coming. They needed help opposite Montez Sweat. However, things got interesting when the Bears pulled a swerve, signing former two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Grady Jarrett.
Fans would’ve been over the moon if this had been three or four years ago. There was a period when Jarrett was one of the best interior pass rushers in the league. However, an injury in 2023 and sagging production (2 sacks) in 2024 left many wondering if the 31-year-old’s gas tank is empty. Why would the Bears bring him in on a multi-year deal knowing this was a possibility? Jeff Hughes of Da Bears Blog got to the bottom of that by reaching out to his contacts around the league. The answer he got back was eye-opening.
What does Grady Jarrett have left? “Surprising signing for me. Thought Jarrett would be an expensive one-year deal for a contender. Buffalo or Baltimore or somewhere like that. I think he has enough to be a rotational player. But sorta the way Ben brought in Thuney and Jonah to change the culture on offense, I wonder if DA just wanted a high character guy for that reason. Nobody is higher character than Grady.”
Grady Jarrett isn’t the first example of the Bears doing this.
In 2001, the team struggled to find a path back to winning. To help with that, they brought in big defensive tackles Ted Washington and Keith Traylor. Washington was a three-time Pro Bowler at the time, having had loads of playoff success in San Francisco and Buffalo. Traylor was a two-time Super Bowl champion with Denver. Though both were in their 30s, they instantly changed teh culture of the locker room. Chicago went 13-3 and made the playoffs, kickstarting one of the best decades of the Super Bowl era.
The team hopes Grady Jarrett can make that sort of impact. It would be great if he somehow regains his Pro Bowl form, but what they really need is his leadership. The man understands how to conduct himself like a pro and is more than willing to mentor young guys. His influence on Gervon Dexter and Shemar Turner alone could prove priceless.
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