Bears general manager Ryan Poles said when he introduced defensive end Montez Sweat that he was working on a contract extension “now.” That deal is done.
Sweat signed a four-year contract through 2027 on Saturday, which secures him with the Bears through 2027. It is worth $98 million with $72.9 million guaranteed, a source said, making him the highest paid player on the team.
The $24.5 million average is the highest in Bears history, outpacing the six-year, $141 million deal Khalil Mack signed in 2018.
Getting the Sweat deal done also ensures the Bears have the option to use the franchise tag on cornerback Jaylon Johnson, who is approaching free agency and was frustrated enough this week to ask for a trade. Johnson and the Bears have been negotiating for months, but don’t seem to have made much progress, and Poles said Tuesday, “I don’t want to lose Jaylon Johnson.”
When Poles traded a second-round pick to the Commanders for Sweat on Tuesday, it was a near-certainty the Bears would soon sign him to an extension. There was no way he could risk giving up what currently is the No. 35 overall pick for a player who would leave after half a season.
Sweat, 27, has 35 1/2 career sacks in 67 games over five seasons — all with the Commanders after they drafted him in the first round out of Mississippi State in 2019.
Sweat is eighth in the NFL with 6 1/2 sacks this season; linebacker T.J. Edwards and defensive end Yannick Ngakoue lead the Bears with two each. The team has 10 sacks this season, which is last in the NFL, and has had three games in which it didn’t get one.
