Dayo Odeyingbo Earns Encouraging Report at Bears Practice

There’s no denying that 2026 is going to be a prove-it year for Dayo Odeyingbo. After being brought into Chicago on a three-year, $48 million deal, Odeyingbo played in just eight games and had one sack last year.

It’s not as if Odeyingbo has a ton of other proven production to fall back onto either, as his best year in the NFL was in 2023 with eight sacks, but that's the only time he’s had at least six sacks.

With the Bears having an out in Odeyingbo’s contract in 2027 on top of the fact that he then becomes a free agent in 2028, this season will determine a lot about the future of Odeyingbo and this organization.

If Odeyingbo plays well, at only 26 years old he could very well be around here for years to come. If not, there’s a very good chance the two sides will part ways very soon which could lead the Bears to draft an edge rusher very highly in the 2027 NFL Draft.

The reason that Odeyingbo only played in eight games last year was because as Ian Rapoport would post on X, “Sources: #Bears standout edge Dayo Odeyingbo, a big-ticket signing in free agency, has torn his Achilles and is out for the season.”

That said, Odeyingbo is at practice and received a very encouraging report from Clay Harbor on X:

“Dayo had a couple nice rushes especially one from the inside.”

There are two key parts of this report and we’ll contrast that with another report from Courtney Cronin on X.

Dayo Odeyingbo Alignment Report

Beyond just Odeyingbo playing well at practice, there's another piece of information that Bears fans should be paying attention to, which is where he's lined up.

Cronin wrote on X today, “Saw Dayo Odeyingbo get a couple DE reps once Sweat went inside the building with a trainer but Odeyingbo was mostly kicked inside at DT.”

While Odeyingbo is listed as the starter at right defensive end on the ESPN Bears depth chart, that may not be where he’s playing at all. With Austin Booker being placed behind Odeyingbo, my thought was that Booker would replace Odeyingbo as a starter.

While it’s still unclear if Odeyingbo would start at defensive tackle, it adds another possibility to how he can contribute to this Bears team in 2026.