Bears nix Larry Ogunjobi deal over failed physical

The Bears announced that they have called off their agreement with defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi. Per the club’s press release, Ogunjobi failed his physical.

“As I said before, Larry Ogunjobi embodies everything we are looking for in a Bear,” GM Ryan Poles said in a statement. “He is a special person and player. During the league’s negotiating window earlier this week, we agreed to terms with him, subject to him passing a physical here. After a standard and thorough physical and medical review with Larry yesterday afternoon, our medical team deemed him to have failed his physical and, therefore, unfortunately, we are not signing him today. This is difficult and it is emotional for everyone involved, but ultimately is what is in the best interest of protecting the Chicago Bears.”

The contract was set to be worth $40.5M over three years, with $26.35M guaranteed. It was to be a huge pay bump for the 27-year-old (28 in June), but he’ll now have to find his next contract elsewhere.

Ogunjobi spent his first four seasons with the Browns before moving on to the Bengals last year. In 2021, he notched 49 tackles and seven sacks in 16 games. The investment in Ogunjobi — along with the likes of Trey Hendrickson and Chidobe Awuzie — paid off as the Bengals won the AFC North for the first time since 2015.

Unfortunately, his season was brought to a halt with a right foot injury before the divisional round. That same foot injury seems to have cost him his contract with Chicago.