Darnell Wright Admits Being Surprised By His Own Contract Extension With Bears

Darnell Wright admitted he was caught off guard when his contract extension with the Chicago Bears crossed the finish line.

Chicago Bears offensive tackle Darnell Wright. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

While Darnell Wright was always confident he would get a contract extension done with the Chicago Bears, he didn't know when exactly that would happen.

Of course, Wright recently inked a four-year, $116 million deal that makes him the highest-paid right tackle in the history of the sport when it comes to annual average, and his $93 million guaranteed amounts to the most for any offensive lineman in NFL history.

On Wednesday, Wright addressed the media for the first time since signing his new deal, which will keep him under contract through 2031, and said he didn't think a deal was close before being notified it was done.

"No, actually," Wright admitted when asked if he thought a deal was close. "I didn't know what it would be like, so I was just more so leaning towards obviously fifth-year option; I have another year on my contract. You could be franchise-tagged, you know, all that stuff. Obviously, I knew I would be here for a long time."

We can't blame Wright for being surprised.

While Wright sounded positive about getting a deal done beforehand, general manager Ryan Poles made it sound like the two sides weren't particularly close to an agreement. Clearly they were a lot closer than Poles' comments indicated.

As we said, Wright was clearly optimistic about eventually getting a deal done when talking about his contract situation before it was done, but general manager Ryan Poles' comments made it seem like the two sides might be far apart.

Upon taking the practice field on Wednesday, which was a light practice for the Bears without pads before they turn things up again on Thursday, Wright said head coach Ben Johnson acknowledged the new deal.

Johnson joked that Wright should be giving offensive line coach Dan Roushar a "loan" for helping with Wright's development.

"After practice, Ben said something. He said I owed Dan [Roushar] a loan or something," Wright said with a laugh. "Which I probably do. That guy has helped me a tremendous amount.

"So, yeah, big shoutout to him as well."

The proof is in the pudding.

Wright has developed into an elite right tackle and notched his first All-Pro selection in his first year working under Roush.

Praise for Ryan Poles

Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Wright went on to laud how general manager Ryan Poles has believed in him and invested in him, even before his historic contract extension.

"I feel very grateful that they trusted me like that and they believe in me," Wright said. "Poles really invests in us besides the financial investment now, obviously. But he really invested in me like helping me get one-on-one time more with the coaches, one-on-one time more with the strength coaches."

"Sometimes it's hard for a player to approach a coach and want to take all their time when they've got stuff to do, but he was invested in me at a really early age beyond what you would think a GM would do," Wright added.

That last point about Poles might be the most important.

Wright putting that out there into the world is not just a great look for Poles, but it also paints the franchise in a positive light and will make Chicago a more attractive destination for all players when they know the general manager truly cares about players and is willing to go the extra mile to help them succeed.