Sources: Bears give RT Wright historic extension
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- Darnell Wright signed a four-year, $116 million extension with $93M guaranteed from the Chicago Bears, making the 24-year-old right tackle the highest-paid at his position in NFL history at a $29M annual average — second among all offensive tackles only to Laremy Tunsil's $30.1M per year.
- Ryan Poles said Wright 'will remain a cornerstone of our franchise' after making him the GM's first-ever first-round pick (10th overall, 2023, out of Tennessee); Wright has started all 49 games he's played and missed only two across three seasons.
- Wright earned second-team All-Pro honors and ranked fourth league-wide in pass block win rate at 95.2% last season while playing through an elbow injury suffered in Week 3, logging the fifth-highest offensive snap count (93.07%).
- Coach Ben Johnson said the Bears run their offense 'a little bit more right-handed than left-handed' to leverage Wright's run-blocking power, calling him a tackle who 'can displace guys off the line of scrimmage.'
- Caleb Williams and the Bears' offensive line helped cut Williams' sack total from a league-high 68 as a rookie to 24 in 2025, while Chicago ranked third in fewest sacks allowed per pass, third in rushing offense, and 10th in passing attack.
- Poles framed consistency as Wright's next frontier: 'We all see the flashes… Can he be consistent day in and day out, that's the key part for Darnell.'
- The Bears had picked up Wright's fifth-year option in May and finalized the extension after six training camp practices.
Why it matters: Wright's $116M deal locks in the bookend of an offensive line that drove Chicago's top-3 ranking in sacks allowed and rushing offense, giving the Bears rare continuity up front while Caleb Williams enters his third year — and making Wright the new $29M-per-year benchmark every other right tackle's agent will cite in negotiations.
