With the start of the 2019 NFL season on the horizon for the Chicago Bears, the franchise felt that it was important to continue to get some business taken care of regarding one of their best players. Many fans might have been a bit upset with Chicago’s decision of not keeping certain offensive linemen on the 53-man roster entering the regular season (mainly Alex Bars) to help with depth. However, maybe the news regarding one of the starters on the offensive front will help ease that pain.
On Sunday, the Bears extended the contract of offensive lineman Cody Whitehair. The extension is a five-year, $52.5 million deal which includes $27.5 million guaranteed. NFL Insider for ESPN Adam Schefter tweeted the news.
Bears are signing guard Cody Whitehair to a 5-year, $52.5 million extension that includes $27.5 million guaranteed, per sources. The deal, negotiated by Jeff Nalley and Graylan Crain, gives Whitehair the second-largest guarantee for a guard extension in NFL history.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 1, 2019
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Whitehair, who made the Pro Bowl last season, just entered the final year of his rookie contract prior to signing this extension. The writing seemed to be on the wall for the deal. Just last week, Chicago restructured the contract of left tackle Charles Leno Jr., which freed up an additional $5.6 million worth of salary-cap space.
With this signing, the 2016 second-round pick is now the highest-paid player on the Bears’ offensive line, and will be a major part of the future of Chicago’s offensive line for year to come, along with Leno, center James Daniels, and right tackle Bobby Massie, who also signed a contract extension earlier this year.
Whitehair has shown much diversity during his time in the Windy City. As a rookie, he was expected to come in to play guard, but was thrusted into the center position after the season-ending injury to Hroniss Grasu. Now, after playing three full year with the Bears, he is now getting recognized for the great talent he is, and possibly as one of the best offensive linemen in the NFL.