Chicago Bears' defensive free agency signing named most 'head-scratching' move

The Chicago Bears have had a remarkable 2025 offseason. By some accounts, it was the best offseason in the NFC North.

But not every move that general manager Ryan Poles made has been greeted with excitement.

In a recent breakdown of the most head-scratching offseason decisions by every NFL team, the Bears' decision to sign veteran defensive lineman Grady Jarrett was dubbed a questionable move.

"Jarrett moves on from Atlanta, which supported one of the weakest front sevens in the league last season," Yardbarker's Seth Trachtman wrote. "Chicago apparently believes the veteran has something left, but they did it at the expense of $43.5 million over three years as he enters his age-32 season."

Chicago Bears signed Grady Jarrett for more than just on-field reasons

Sure, Grady Jarrett isn't the same player in 2025 that he was a few seasons ago, and he likely won't regain the dominant form he displayed before tearing his ACL in 2023. But he did prove last season that he's still one of the most reliable interior defenders in the league. He started all 17 games and logged 744 snaps.

Jarrett won't be expected to play as many snaps for the Bears in 2025, especially not with the rotation of defensive linemen that's currently on the roster. He'll join Gervon Dexter, Andrew Billings, and rookie second-round pick Shemar Turner to form an extremely talented collection of interior disruptors.

More importantly, Jarrett will bring a special kind of leadership to the Chicago Bears locker room. His introductory press conference laid the foundation for the energy he'll inject into practices and inside Halas Hall, which is an intangible value that extends way beyond a box score.

I get it. Signing a 32-year-old defensive lineman who's likely on the downside of his career to a $43.5 million contract will cause some analysts to question why. But for this team, in this offseason, Jarrett is a perfect on-and-off-the-field fit for the short and long-term goals of the organization.

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