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The Chicago Bears are ready to up their game during the 2026 NFL season. Chicago made the playoffs during Ben Johnson’s first year as head coach. The Bears will want to make it even deeper in the postseason during his second season in Chicago. Locking down one offensive player could help extend Chicago’s playoff window to start Johnson’s tenure.
ESPN’s Courtney Cronin believes the Bears could give Darnell Wright a contract extension before the start of training camp.
“The Bears would like to get an extension done with the 2023 first-rounder before training camp, which is typically when they’ve struck new deals in the past (Cole Kmet in 2023, DJ Moore in 2024),” Cronin wrote. “Despite playing most of last season with a torn UCL, Wright put together the best season of his career and earned second-team All-Pro honors.”
Wright is on the final year of his rookie contract, which makes him eligible for a contract extension. The Bears did pick up his fifth-year option, which gives Wright a $19.07 million deal for the 2027 season. That gives Chicago control over Wright, but does not prevent them from extending him on a long-term deal.
Chicago’s coaching staff sounds excited about Wright’s potential, especially after his All-Pro season in 2025.
“He just continues to get better,” coach Johnson said, per Cronin. “When you watch us on offense, we’re certainly a little bit more right-handed than left-handed, and that is with him in mind. I think he’s one of those tackles that’s a powerful player and can displace guys off the line of scrimmage.”
It will be interesting to see whether or not Wright resets the tackle market. One ESPN insider believes that Joe Alt will land a bigger deal than Wright, in part because he is a left tackle.
Either way, the Bears have to be excited about building their o-line around Wright moving forward.
The post Bears rumors: Chicago’s timeline for Darnell Wright contract extension revealed by insider appeared first on ClutchPoints.
