Like every team, the Chicago Bears have both underpaid and overpaid players. But every contract is unique, and there are varying degrees of underpaid and overpaid.
Pro Football Focus recently conducted a review of all 32 teams and identified which players on each roster have the best and worst contracts.
It should come as no surprise that Jimmy Graham was the pick for the worst contract on the Bears:
Worst: TE Jimmy Graham — Two years, $16 million ($9 million guaranteed)
Graham was a cap casualty of the division rival Green Bay Packers after the 2019 season, with his 53.6 grade ranking 57th among tight ends with at least 100 snaps that year. The Chicago Bears inexplicably signed him to a top-of-market contract that included a no-trade clause as they continued their quest to rectify a position group that has given them headaches for years.
As for the best contract? It’s an interesting choice:
Best: DI Mario Edwards Jr. — Three years, $11.66 million ($5.5 million total guaranteed)
Edwards will miss the first two games in 2021 because of a suspension, but Chicago is clearly very high on the former second-rounder. The Bears let Roy Robertson-Harris walk, signing with Jacksonville on a strong three-year, $23.4 million deal, and even entertained the idea of trading/releasing Akiem Hicks.
Edwards has been a rotational piece thus far in his career but is coming off his best season, putting up an 88.6 grade and a 12.1% pressure percentage that tied for 10th among interior defenders in 2020.
Graham’s reps should drop by a significant number in 2021 with the expected emergence of Cole Kmet, while Edwards Jr. should continue his evolution as a critical piece of the Bears’ defensive front.