Rating Bears for Contract Extensions

One of the reasons Bears GM Ryan Poles said after season's end his spending in free agency had to be "sound" rather than throwing away money is the number of player extensions he has facing him.

A good chunk of their $80 million-plus salary cap space will be devoted to some of their players entering contract years: cornerback Jaylon Johnson, tight end Cole Kmet, wide receiver Darnell Mooney and possibly even wide receiver Chase Claypool.

Johnson made the rounds at the Super Bowl and has apparently been one of those who the Bears are already looking at getting an extension. He told CHGO and NBC Sports in Chicago that he already had some talks about an extension with the team.

"That's definitely my goal," he told NBC Sports.

"I would love to stay in Chicago and love to get that extension," he said to CHGO sports.

Should Johnson be the first target for an extension?

It's not a huge priority at this point in the year because all of these players are under contract for 2023 but it's not something the Bears should let get too far before it's addressed because failing to get a player his extension before the start of the final season can result in bad feelings and the desire by a player to move on. Obviously this hasn't happened yet with Johnson.

The Bears just had an example of how that all plays out with Allen Robinson.

Here's a ranking of importance for players to receive extensions and why. There are 12 other players who are free agents after this season including Lucas Patrick, Trevor Siemian, Al-Quadin Muhammad and Kindle Vildor, but these players all have a great need to prove they belong in Chicago in this season without being considered for an extension.

1. RB David Montgomery

His is due now so it's not an extension. It's an entirely new contract. He is the ultimate priority if they even want him back. This isn't apparent even as Poles says he appreciates everything about Montgomery. Proof is in the payment.

2. TE Cole Kmet

It's supply and demand.

The Bears have no other tight ends capable of doing the job. He's the only experienced tight end they have under contract now.

There are some decent prospects in the draft like Notre Dame's Michael Mayer and Oregon State's Luke Musgrave, a few in free agency like Dallas' Dalton Schultz and Jacksonville's Evan Engram. Drafting tight ends seems to require two or three years of development. It did even with the best tight ends, like Super Bowl tight ends Travis Kelce or Dallas Goedert.

This is a very assignment-specific offense and the tight ends didn't flourish in Green Bay with this attack as it oftens turns them more into blockers than receivers.

However, Kmet really made great strides last season and had a breakthrough as a blocker in this offense. He did it while making team highs of 50 catches and five TD passes.

3. WR Darnell Mooney

Of course they want Mooney back. He has proven to be a great asset as a fifth-round pick who has far exceeded the production that could have been anticipated. Chase Claypool, Henry Ruggs, Jerry Jeudy, Jalen Reagor, Laviska Shenault Jr., KJ Hamler, Van Jefferson, Denzel Mims, Lynn Bowden Jr., Bryan Edwards, Devin Duvernay, Gabe Davis, Antonio Gandy-Golden, Joe Reed, Tyler Johnson, Collin Johnson, Quintez Cephus, John Hightower and former Bear Isaiah Coulter were all chosen ahead of Mooney in 2020 and haven't make as many receptions as Mooney.

"I love him more than I did when I first walked in the door," Poles said of Mooney. "I think he's a special human being, first and foremost, and a really good football player."

That's pretty definitive, but the reason he ranks below Kmet is he's not healthy. They need to see him on the practice field this spring at some point and know he's back from the ankle surgery. It shouldn't be a problem but you don't commit extensions to players who are injured.

4. CB Jaylon Johnson

They obviously want Johnson back because they've reportedly inquired about the extension. The coaching staff appreciates his skills and even went out of their way to let him "travel" and cover the opponent's best receiver. This isn't a normal thing for the Tampa-2, so obviously they realize him as a cornerback on a different level than the others. His stats show this is the case.

However, his stats also show one other thing: lack of availability. As we all know, availability is the best ability.

When they made the playoffs in 2020 he was unavailable due to injury. He missed three games that year. He missed a game in 2021 and last year missed six games with injuries. That's 10 games in three years and also one playoff game.

Johnson's problem with injuries doesn't seem to be that he's injury prone, which is a silly term anyway. He gives so much effort and pushes his body to do so many difficult things that he needs to govern his risk a little better.

Perhaps if they ever get good enough at the other cornerback position they can leave him in one position and let him play it like a straight zone cornerback. Maybe his interception total would rise from one for his career then, too.

This could be one of the deepest cornerback draft classes to come along in years so no one could be surprised if they weren't as forthcoming with the big cash for Johnson, although he definitely has lived up to his draft status.

This will be interesting to follow.

5. WR Chase Claypool

They'll need to see some kind of offseason commitment from him. He reportedly understands the importance of this season and it sounds like he's going to need to prove himself first, which would mean waiting for his extension.

Claypool, a Canadian, told Canadian writer Adam Laskaris that he realizes how big of an offseason this is.

"This is definitely my biggest offseason yet," he said. "I think understanding that going into it helps. Having a couple offseasons under my belt has kind of allowed me to, kind of perfect the process as much as I can do things more efficiently and stuff like that."

Poles needs to see Claypool's commitment to fitting in during the offseason, working with Justin Fields and with the offense before there's any commitment here.

Sure, the Bears spent a second-round pick to get him but if it was a mistake then throwing more money after the mistake is an ever bigger one. So expect they'll wait til get more proof he is what they thought.

6. DT Justin Jones

He's already been told he was progressing well at defensive tackle with the team and is appreciated by Matt Eberflus, Poles and Alan Williams. He'd be a fine member of a defensive line rotation but is not a standout player. Jones was one of the few Bears 2022 free agent signings who has worked out, although no one would call it a smashing success at three sacks.

7. K Cairo Santos

Let's take it a year at a time at place-kicker. The Bears have already experience with kickers gone awry. They can use their available funds under the 2023 cap late in the season toward giving him a contract for 2024.

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