Bears Eyeing Darnell Wright Extension

Chicago is eyeing an extension with Wright, ESPN’s Courtney Cronin writes. She adds the team hopes to have a deal in place by the start of training camp. The Bears have operated along that timeline in the past with respect to extending in-house players, and it would come as little surprise if it were to be repeated in this case.

“He just continues to get better,” head coach Ben Johnson said of Wright. “When you watch us on offense, we’re certainly a little bit more right-handed than left-handed, and that is with him in mind. I think he’s one of those tackles that’s a powerful player and can displace guys off the line of scrimmage.”

Wright has worked exclusively at right tackle in the NFL, logging over 1,000 snaps at that spot every year to date. That will be expected to continue for at least the next two seasons, and keeping the former No. 10 pick in place for the foreseeable future will offer stability up front. The center spot was unexpectedly in flux in 2026 thanks to Drew Dalman‘s retirement, while Chicago is on track to use a stopgap approach at left tackle to at least begin the coming campaign. Regardless of how things play out at those positions, keeping Wright in place for the years to come would be worthwhile for Chicago.

Despite dealing with a UCL tear during much of 2025, Wright collected second-team All-Pro honors. Expectations will remain high in his case, especially if an extension agreement can be reached. A number of right tackles have surpassed the $20MM-per-year mark in recent years, and Wright could easily do so ahead of his age-25 season depending on the progress made during contract talks.

Bears veterans will report to training camp on July 28. It will be interesting to see if Wright has a new deal in place by that point as a result of negotiations over the coming weeks.