Defensive end Montez Sweat agreed to a four-year, $98 million extension with the Chicago Bears after the team acquired him from the Washington Commanders ahead of the NFL trade deadline, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz.
Sweat will collect $72.8 million guaranteed, and his overall earnings from the Bears will total almost $105 million when factoring in his $6.4 million cap hit for the remainder of the 2023 season.
The 27-year-old was due to become a free agent in the offseason. Considering the Bears gave up a 2024 second-round pick in order to get him, many assumed they intended to re-sign him sooner or later. Chicago has ample cap space in 2024 with which to fit him into the budget.
General manager Ryan Poles told reporters Wednesday he was “really confident that we can get a deal done.”
Sweat’s $24.5 million annual salary from his extension will put him fifth among the highest-paid edge defenders, sandwiched halfway between the Cleveland Browns’ Myles Garrett ($25 million) and Green Bay Packers’ Rashan Gary ($24 million).
Spotrac had pegged his market value at $25.3 million, so he and the Bears landed on a reasonable dollar figure.
Sweat had 29 sacks and 37 tackles for loss through his first four years, and he’s on pace to set a career-high in 2023 with 6.5 through eight games. Poles will be busy to augment a team that sits 2-6 and last in the NFC North, but he can now count on having an anchor for the defensive line moving forward.
Wrapping this up now could have wider implications as well.
