Bears' Free-Agent Mistake Named Chicago's Most Overpaid Player Entering 2026

Bleacher Report recently named the most overpaid player for every team in the NFL and the outlet hit the nail on the head with the pick for the Chicago Bears.

Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles. | David Banks-Imagn Images

The Chicago Bears took a swing at a big free-agent acquisition at edge rusher last offseason and so far that move has not paid off.

That free-agent acquisition was edge rusher Dayo Odeyingbo, who Bleacher Report's Gary Davenport recently dubbed as the team's most overpaid player entering the 2026 campaign.

"The Bears gave Odeyingbo a three-year, $48 million deal last offseason in hopes that he'd take another step forward after back-to-back promising campaigns in Indy," Davenport wrote. "But he struggled in his first eight games, registering just one sack and two tackles for loss before suffering a torn Achilles tendon in Week 9. Far from ideal for a guy who will count $20.5 million against the cap in 2026. "

Why Odeyingbo is overpaid

Chicago Bears defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo. | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

The signing of Odeyingbo was a major risk from the jump. It really never made sense to pay the 26-year-old defender as much as Chicago did given his lackluster history of production.

Odeyingbo had a career year in 2023, tallying a career-high eight sacks with the Indianapolis Colts.

But the red flag was the veteran's drop in production the following season, when he posted just three sacks despite playing a larger share of snaps, going from 53% to 64%.

Odeyingbo posted a sack in his debut with the Bears, but he didn't bring down the quarterback again over his next seven games and finished with a lowly 10 pressures.

Making matters even worse, he suffered a torn Achilles in Week 9 that obviously knocked him out for the remainder of the season.

Odeyingbo would have been a prime cut candidate this offseason if not for his contract that carries a massive dead-cap hit if he's released. A trade would lessen that hit, but no team is going to consider trading for him off a serious injury, so the Bears are currently stuck.

Now, the Bears have a major question mark in Odeyingbo going into 2026 and having his contract on the books almost certainly limited what Chicago could in free agency.

The Bears can only hope Odeyingbo will step up and provide the boost Chicago needs, but that's a shaky proposition, especially considering he may not be himself in his first year back.