The Chicago Bears wasted little time this offseason locking up two critical players to multi-year contract extensions: guard Joe Thuney and cornerback Kyler Gordon.
With Thuney and Gordon's contracts in the books, the Bears and general manager Ryan Poles can turn their attention to next year's cluster of extension-eligible players and begin to prioritize which starter or key contributor should be next for a big pay day.
According to a recent breakdown of every NFL team's top contract extension candidate, that next Bears player to get paid could be right tackle Darnell Wright.
"Wright will be extension eligible next offseason and is currently under contract through the 2027 season with the fifth-year option," CBS Sports' Tyler Sullivan wrote. "Chicago has spent the offseason investing heavily along the interior of the defensive line, and will likely continue that trend of building a wall in front of Caleb Williams at tackle. While Wright can improve as a pass blocker, he graded as the seventh-best tackle in run blocking. Overall, PFF grades Wright as the No. 16 tackle."
Unlike Thuney and Gordon, the Bears have much more control over Wright's short and long-term contract. As the team's first-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Bears have a fifth-year option in Wright's contract, and while most teams prefer getting an extension done for players who they deem worthy of exercising that option for, if negotiations get complicated, Poles doesn't have to feel as rushed as he may have been with Thuney and Gordon, both of whom were entering 2025 on expiring deals.
He also has another season to evaluate Wright before he has to commit top-of-the-market money to him.
Darnell Wright will be worth every penny of whatever massive contract extension he ends up signing, assuming he stays healthy and continues his upward trajectory. He's been the Bears' best offensive lineman since his arrival in 2023, and even with the upgrades the team made at guard and center this offseason, it's Wright who possesses true blue-chip, long-term traits that Chicago will build its offensive line around.
Poles has been knocked for passing on Jalen Carter in the 2023 NFL draft and instead opting to trade down and select Wright in the first round. And while it's easy to get caught up in Carter's flash plays -- especially with the Philadelphia Eagles winning the Super Bowl -- having a player like Darnell Wright is equally impactful for long-term success, even if he shines in anonymity.
