One of the top priorities for the Chicago Bears before the start of the season is getting a contract extension done with right tackle Darnell Wright.
Wright, who has become one of the better right tackles in the NFL, still has one more year left on his current deal but the longer the Bears wait, the more expensive he could become if other tackles get new deals between now and Wright getting his.
When asked about the situation at the outset of training camp, general manager Ryan Poles admitted that Wright is “a guy we want here long term,” but also noted that the team is setting a deadline to get something done and it “takes two sides to get things done,” which didn’t sound too positive.
“So we’ll figure that part out, but obviously I think I’ve said it before — Darnell’s a guy we want here long term,” Poles said. “It takes two sides to get things done. But at the end of the day I don’t want any distractions or anything like that.”
Best quote from Day 3 of training camp
When addressing his contract after practice on Friday, the Bears’ right tackle sounded very positive about things.
Wright said he isn’t stressing about the timeline to get a deal done and made it quite clear he wants to stay in Chicago for a long time.
“I know I’ll be here for a long time. Hopefully my whole career,” Wright said, before adding that “it doesn’t really matter to me (when a deal gets done).”
What we can glean from that is Wright fully expects to get a deal done and it appears to be a matter of when, not if, which is certainly great news.
Better sooner than later
We have already seen what can happen if the Bears wait too long to hammer out a contract extension with Wright. The Minnesota Vikings just extended their own right tackle, Brian O’Neill, which could drive up the price for Wright just a bit more.
O’Neill’s new deal, which is for four years and $96 million, places him third in total value among right tackles, and fourth in annual average. Wright will likely surpass both of those marks, as he’s seven years younger and is coming off an All-Pro season.
Spotrac estimates a three-year, $63.1 million deal for Wright, but that is well short of how we see things. Instead, we could see a four-year deal worth around $100 million based on what the Vikings just gave O’Neill.
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