Bear Digest

The cost to keep Darnell Wright just went way up for Bears

With this on his resume, Darnell Wright now holds all the cards in contract extension talks.
Pete Martuneac|
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Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears and their fans may be laser-focused on tonight's Wild Card game against the Green Bay Packers, and for good reason. The entire season is on the line against their archrival, and some analysts are giving the Bears no chance against the Packers. The players and coaches need to bring their A-game tonight, and that should consume every waking moment they have today.

However, one player has a reason to celebrate this morning. The NFL released the AP All-Pro names on Saturday morning, and right tackle Darnell Wright, who was snubbed from the 2026 NFL Pro Bowl roster, earned a second-team nomination, his first award as an NFL player.

Along with Wright, guard Joe Thuney and safety Kevin Byard III earned first-team All-Pro nods. This makes Thuney's fifth All-Pro award, and for Byard this is his third.

Wright now has a rock-solid case to demand maximum salary

This is great news for Wright, and I'm sure his teammates are celebrating with him, but this award makes general manager Ryan Poles' job just a tad more difficult. With an All-Pro award officially on his resume, Wright now has the ammo to demand a contract extension that resets the offensive tackle market. Additionally, he has missed just two games in three seasons, making him an invaluable anchor on the offensive line.

The Bears are already tight against the salary cap for 2026, and if all goes well for Chicago, quarterback Caleb Williams will in 2027 command the kind of contract extension never before seen in this city. Rome Odunze may also play his way into a hefty extension at that time, only to be followed by rookie phenom Colston Loveland.

And that's not even all the contracts that Poles will have to juggle in the near future, so you can see how tricky it's going to be to keep this core together. The hope will be that, like Jaylon Johnson, Wright takes a small hometown discount to help his team's continuity, but it still won't be cheap.

Fret not, Bears fans. This is a good problem to have. The kind of good problem that has not plagued Chicago in many years. Good teams with good players often have to juggle expensive contracts, and Ryan Poles will just have to find a way to make it work. Other teams do it and keep themselves in title contention regularly, which leaves me with one question, which has become an unofficial motto for this team in 2025: why not the Bears?

Darnell Wrigh
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Pete Martuneac
PETE MARTUNEAC

A former Marine and Purdue Boilermaker, Pete has been covering the Chicago Bears since 2022 as a senior contributor on BearsTalk. He lives with his wife, two kids and loyal dog.

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