Drew Dalman, Grady Jarrett, Dayo Odeynigbo: Grading the Chicago Bears on the first day of NFL free agency

It was a big day for the Chicago Bears on the first day of legal NFL free agency tampering.

When the dust settled, the Bears handed out $88.5 million in guaranteed money on Monday between three free-agent signings.

The Bears agreed to deals with Drew Dalman, Grady Jarrett and Dayo Odeynigbo. Each of the three players the Bears agreed to deals with are in the trenches, showing where the Bears' priorities currently lie this offseason.

Here's how we grade the Bears' first day of free agent contracts.

Drew Dalman: Three-year, $42 million deal, $28 million guaranteed

Grade: A

Dalman does not have a Pro Bowl to his name. He's 26, has been the starting center in Atlanta for three seasons, and is coming off a season where an injury limited him to nine games.

But, considering the alternative, Dalman's signing is a sharp curve.

The Bears have tried Cody Whitehair, Sam Mustipher, Lucas Patrick and Coleman Shelton at center the last four years. For the lack of a better word, it didn't work out.

Dalman's signing broke a vicious cycle of swinging and missing at the center position. Is it an overpay to make a 26-year-old who has never been a Pro Bowler or an All-Pro the second-highest-paid center in the league? Not when it finally lifts the Bears' center position out of uncertainty and locks it down for the next three seasons.

Dayo Odeynigbo: Three-year, $48 million deal, with $32 million guaranteed

Grade: B

Look at it this way: Odeynigbo's signing grades out as a B because the Bears paid for potential and not sack production. Odeynigbo had three sacks in 2024.

However, the 17 quarterback pressures Odeynigbo recorded in 2024 would have been the second-most on the Chicago Bears in the 2024 season.

Odeynigbo was a player that was going to receive more than some may have thought because the potential was there. If that potential meshes well opposite premiere edge rusher Montez Sweat and with the Bears' talented secondary, he might be worth every bit of that $48 million.

You can't predict a player's career based on potential. But, you can put plenty of talent around that potential to help it flourish as much as it can. That's what the Bears are doing with Odeynigbo.

ATLANTA, GEORGIA - SEPTEMBER 8: Grady Jarrett #97 of the Atlanta Falcons leads a team huddle prior to a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on September 8, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. The Steelers defeated the Falcons 18-10. (

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Grady Jarrett: Three-year, $43.5 million deal, with $28.5 million guaranteed

Grade: B

The Bears needed a defensive tackle and picked up where the Atlanta Falcons left off.

Atlanta didn't want to part with Jarrett – ESPN reported the two sides tried restructuring his contract – but Atlanta's cap situation forced his release. Now, he's on the Bears and pairs with Gervon Dexter Sr. and Andrew Billings on the inside while tag-teaming with Odeynigbo and Sweat as pass rushers.

Jarrett is an experienced three-technique defensive tackle. It's hard to give him an A-grade when the Bears are paying him more guaranteed money than the 26-year-old center the team pursued in free agency right away, but it's not farfetched to think Jarrett could give an Akiem Hicks-sized lift to this Bears defense.

That's something the Bears haven't had in years. If the Bears can get that kind of production out of the final years of Jarrett's career, he'll be very much worth that $43.5 million in production only.

Jarrett also brings stout leadership the Bears' defensive line would love to have as they aim to take the next step with players like Dexter, Sweat, Billings and a host of younger pass rushers and defensive tackles like Daniel Hardy and Chris Williams.