Bear Digest

Pro Football Focus Names Bears' Best and Worst Free-Agent Signings of 2025

PFF trusted the tape with their choices for the Chicago Bears' best and worst free-agent signings from last year.
Bryan Perez|
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With 2026 NFL free agency looming around the corner, it's worth looking back at how GM Ryan Poles and the Chicago Bears did with their 2025 free agency moves.

In its season-in-review evaluation, Pro Football Focus handed down some blunt verdicts on every team's best and worst signings from last year's spending spree. For the Chicago Bears, the best is pretty obvious, while the worst? Well, that's up for debate.

PFF acknowledged Drew Dalman as the Bears' top move in 2025 free agency.

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"The Bears’ offensive line was one of the top in the NFL, and it started in the middle with Dalman’s excellence," Pro Football Focus' Bradley Locker wrote. "The former Falcon ranked seventh among qualified centers with a 72.7 overall PFF grade, and his 0.31 Wins Above Replacement were the third-most."

Dalman's impact can't be overstated. The Bears made a conscious effort last offseason to stabilize the interior offensive line, and Dalman delivered exactly what the front office envisioned. His consistency in pass protection and command of protections helped Chicago's offense to function at a far higher level than Bears fans were accustomed to in recent years.

Dalman ended the season with the seventh-best PFF grade among all centers.

As for the Bears' worst signing last offseason? That dubious honor belongs to defensive lineman Grady Jarrett.

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"On the flip side, Chicago’s defensive line underperformed this season — and the addition of Jarrett didn’t pan out." Locker wrote. "Dalman’s teammate in Atlanta was signed to a three-year, $43.5 million deal but produced a 56.9 overall PFF grade, including a 41.9 PFF run-defense mark."

I'm not so sure Jarrett was the worst signing the Bears made last offseason. There's an argument to be had that Dayo Odeyingbo was. But PFF's point can't be ignored. Jarrett was supposed to provide a disruptive presence along the interior of Chicago's defense, and he failed to live up to the hype.

Jarrett ended the season with a 56.9 PFF grade, and he struggled to impact games on a consistent basis.

The Chicago Bears won't have as much salary-cap flexibility in 2026, and it's unlikely Ryan Poles will be as aggressive in free agency as he was last year. Still, Bears fans hope whoever is added to the roster has a more "Drew Dalman"- like impact than Grady Jarrett did.

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Bryan Perez
BRYAN PEREZ

Bryan Perez founded and operated Bears Talk, a Chicago sports blog. Prior to that, he covered the Bears for USA Today’s Bears Wire and NBC Sports Chicago. In addition to his Chicago Bears coverage, Perez is a respected member of NFL Draft media and was a past winner of The Huddle's Mock Draft competition. Bryan's past life includes time as a Northeast scout for the CFL's Ottawa Redblacks.

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