RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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CHICAGO — Darnell Wright has a chance to do something only one other player has accomplished for the Chicago Bears since Brian Urlacher.
After the franchise made him the highest-paid right tackle in the NFL on Tuesday, you can believe general manager Ryan Poles is sure hopeful that Wright becomes the franchise’s second first-round pick to be named to a Pro Bowl team since Urlacher, a Hall of Famer.
The Bears made it clear they wanted to extend Wright after the breakthrough season he enjoyed in 2025, and now that business — and a second contract from the team — is done well in advance of the start of the regular season. Wright is receiving a $116 million, four-year extension, with $93 million guaranteed, that now has him under contract through the 2030 season.
While overshadowed by quarterback Caleb Williams and some skill-position performers a year ago, Wright’s development was a huge storyline internally for the Bears, who knew overhauling the line was essential to turning around what had long been a moribund offense. Poles swung trades for veteran guards Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson, but a total makeover relied on Wright achieving his potential.
Wright, who will turn 25 on Monday, showed flashes as a rookie in 2023 and in 2024, but along with those peaks came valleys. Offensive line coach Dan Roushar was direct in talking about the right tackle’s inconsistencies as recently as last August.
Despite suffering a torn UCL in his right elbow in a Week 3 win over the Dallas Cowboys, Wright finished that game, missed the following week at Las Vegas and then played the remainder of the season with limited strength and a bulky brace to protect the arm. Instead of being impeded, Wright was even more locked in helping the league’s third-ranked rushing attack that was often right-handed, meaning the backs were going behind Wright and Jackson. Meanwhile, Williams, who was sacked an NFL-high 68 times as a rookie, took only 24 sacks in 2025.
The Detroit Lions’ Penei Sewell was the only right tackle to get more All-Pro votes than Wright. Sewell is now playing left tackle for the Lions, so it stands to reason Wright is the highest-paid right tackle in the game. His deal moves him ahead of 36-year-old right tackle Lane Johnson, who is at $25 million annually for the Philadelphia Eagles.
It’s about time the Bears nailed it with a first-round draft pick and then made it work on the business side with that player. Wright was Poles’ first first-round pick for the franchise, whose failures in Round 1 have been a significant part of the mediocrity that has marked most of the last two decades.
Cornerback Kyle Fuller, drafted in 2014, is the only Bears’ first-round pick to make a Pro Bowl while playing on his second contract with the team since Urlacher, the first-round pick in 2000.
The NFL instituted fifth-year options in the contracts of first-round picks in 2011, and offensive lineman Kyle Long (2013), edge rusher Leonard Floyd (2016) and inside linebacker Roquan Smith (2018) are the only Round 1 selections prior to Wright to have their option year picked up by the club. Long was signed to an extension, Floyd was released before his fifth season, and Poles traded Smith to the Baltimore Ravens when he couldn’t hammer out a long-term extension. The Bears actually declined the option in Fuller’s contract but then used the transition tag to keep him in place and matched an offer sheet he signed with the Green Bay Packers.
It’s that checkered history with first-round picks, especially missing on quarterbacks Mitch Trubisky and Justin Fields, that has made roster construction difficult for the Bears.
It’s infinitely harder to build a depth chart without what scouts refer to as “blues,” players with the ability to be a high-end starter on any roster in the league. And when you’re repeatedly squandering your most valuable draft resources, it’s next to impossible. Organizations that are able to sustain success find ways to stock the cupboard time and again with draft picks, especially the premium selections.
The Bears haven’t just missed in Round 1. If you look back over the last 20 seasons, there are large stretches where they didn’t have draft picks with staying power. Running back Matt Forte was a terrific second-round pick in 2008 and had a long, successful career for the Bears. After him, the next draft picks that stuck around and were good starters into a second contract were left tackle Charles Leno (Round 7, 2014), guard/center Cody Whitehair (Round 2, 2016), free safety Eddie Jackson (Round 4, 2017) and now tight end Cole Kmet and cornerback Jaylon Johnson, both second-round picks in 2020.
Wide receiver Alshon Jeffery, a terrific second-round pick in 2012, only stuck around for five seasons as he played in 2016 on the franchise tag. Long’s career was shortened by a series of major injuries. Nickel cornerback Kyler Gordon has a rich second contract, but injuries cloud his present and future.
Poles’ 2025 draft class was highly productive and the synergy between the front office, scouting staff and coaching staff is something that could propel the team to contention for seasons to come. That’s what the Bears are banking on anyway.
Tight end Colston Loveland and wide receiver Luther Burden III are expected to be big matchup pieces for coach Ben Johnson in Year 2. Running back Kyle Monangai looks to build off his 783-yard season, and offensive tackle Ozzy Trapilo and defensive end Shemar Turner, when healthy, are players the club will be counting on in the future.
With Williams, wide receiver Rome Odunze and defensive end Austin Booker, a potential breakout candidate, the Bears have amassed more young talent that points to the kind of bright future they’ve missed since the franchise largely built a powerful defense under GM Jerry Angelo and coach Lovie Smith by drafting.
A rich extension for Wright, who made it clear he was very comfortable with the idea of being at Halas Hall for a long time...
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