Bear Digest

The player who really deserves high priority for Bears extension

Bears GM Ryan Poles praised Andrew Billings up and down this week and pointed out how their defense declined when he was injured, yet he's paid at a low rate and needs an extension.
Gene Chamberlain|
Andrew Billings (97) and Montez Sweat reach out to try and bring down Detroit's Jahmyr Gibbs.
Andrew Billings (97) and Montez Sweat reach out to try and bring down Detroit's Jahmyr Gibbs. | Jamie Sabau-Imagn Images

In this story:

Chicago Bears

After T.J. Edwards got is contact extension and Brian Piccolo Award,  Bears GM Ryan Poles was asked if guard Joe Thuney was next up on his contract extension list.

He confirmed this as true and also this week on AM-1000 even mentioned how the starting safety group is without a contract beyond next year.

The one contract Poles hasn't mentioned on the extension list is, perhaps, the one he should address first.

That would be the player who might be the key to their defense. At least, he probably was the key to their defense last year and Poles admitted this.

That was defensive tackle Andrew Billings.

"Big Bill" is among the players who will be out of contract after the 2025 season, after he had signed a two-year, $8 million contract extension prior to 2024.

Why the urgency at the nose tackle or one-technique defensive tackle position?

For one, Billings is an extremely valuable player and Poles acknowledged this in his appearance on AM-1000's Kap and J. Hood Show. It was apparent how valuable last year after Billing suffered a season-ending torn pectoral muscle.

"You know, Billings, when he was out, you could feel our run defense really start to slide and that affects the middle and that affects the linebackers and everybody else," Poles told Kap & J. Hood. "And then all the sudden you're pout of whack because the (opposing) team can run and then play-action becomes even more deadly."

It was somewhat of an oversimplification to say they went straight downhill from the Billings  injury.

They weren't defending the run really well before his injury but then it got worse. A lot worse.

They were 14th in the league after their Hail Mary defeat and then Billings got hurt in the next game with Arizona.

They fell off to 20th in the league by the next week, 24th after their loss to New England, 25th  through Dec. 2 and dropped to 28th in rushing yards allowed, 29th in rushing yards allowed per attempt by season's end.

With that came the corresponding drop in overall effectiveness as the pass defense that had been fifth in mid-October wound up 16th. As Poles said, they couldn't stop the run and then they couldn't stop the pass, either.

The play of linebackers T.J. Edwards and Tremaine Edmunds was drawing criticism but the one-technique is normally working hand in hand with linebackers and three-technique to help stop the run. He helps make it possible for linebackers to do this.

Even defensive end Montez Sweat's play dropped off with Billings gone. He had only nine pressures in the last nine games after getting 13 in the first seven. He was healthier the first seven, as well, but it didn't hurt having Billings often lining up next to him, enjoying his best pass rush pressure of his career according to ESPN's pass rush win rate.

They talked about the "Sweat effect." Maybe it was really the "Big Bill effect."

Now Billings is back.


"Big Bill is in here getting lean which I love to see," Poles said.

Hopefully, not too lean.

With the importance of Billings acknowledged by Poles, you'd think the 30-year-old defensive tackle would rank not only higher in the pecking order for an extension but also for a hefty raise. After all, his cap hit this year is $57,000 higher than backup defensive tackle Chris Williams, a reserve player they brought in with a seventh-round pick from Cleveland in exchange for a sixth-round pick.

Billings is 57th in defensive tackle pay per year and gets $10.25 million less per year than Bears three-technique tackle Grady Jarrett. He is 22nd on the team in cap hit and is paid less than former Bears defensive tackles Justin Jones, Bilal Nichols, Roy Robertson-Harris and Mario Edwards are paid with other teams.

Poles was even mentioning the safety position and how those players are without contracts for 2026 without bringing up a Billings extension. Yet, there is Billings with one year left on his deal and they didn't draft a replacement. Shemar Turner, the defensive lineman they drafted, is 25 pounds lighter and either a three-technique or end.

The player who needs to be right up there after Thuney would be Billings, if the Bears go by what their general manager says is the root cause of defensive problems last year – playing without Billings.

More Chicago Bears News

X: BearsOnSI

Published
Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.