After a breakthrough 2025 season that yielded a Second Team All-Pro nod, it's a matter of time before the Chicago Bears make Darnell Wright one of the highest-paid offensive tackles in the NFL. While some thought a contract extension could be done by now, general manager Ryan Poles opened training camp by suggesting a deal may be around the corner.
"There is a window to get a deal done, and then at some point we’ve got to go play football",Poles said on Tuesday. "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.”
Back in April, Poles made it clear Wright is a priority to get signed to a long-term deal. The equation also got a potential layer of complication when, on the same day as those comments from Poles about Wright, the division rival Minnesota Vikings gave right tackle Brian O'Neill a four-year, $96 million extension.
That said, O'Neill is older, and just $43.38 million of his new deal is fully guaranteed according to Over The Cap. Wright, at minimum, has a strong case for a larger percentage of guaranteed money than O'Neill got.
Darnell Wright has perfect mindset regarding his contract situation
Wright spoke to reporters after training camp practice on Day 3. He was, of course, asked how he's handling his contract situation.
After offering the expected sentiment about being focused on football, Wright sounded patently unconcerned about the status of contract talks.
"I know I’ll be here for a long time. Hopefully my whole career. Those things kinda handle themselves."
Wright was then asked if he has a preference to have a new contract done "sooner rather than later." Reiterating his expectation to be a Bear for a long time, he isn't concerned about the timing of a deal either.
"I'll be on the Bears for a long time. It doesn’t really matter to me (when it gets done)."
Keeping with the line of questioning, which, to be clear, was not at all adversarial from Bears' reporters, Wright was then asked whether the Bears, if his representation had kept him abreast of what's going on with contract talks.
"The reason you have representation is because you let those guys go in and they handle some of those things for you", Wright. "My job is to play football, handle that part of it...I'm just trying to handle my piece, and those things take care of themselves."
There has been no publicly announced deadline from Wright or the Bears regarding contract talks. One possibility, the start of training camp, is gone anyway. If there were an unspoken deadline to end negotiations until further notice, Week 1 would be most likely.
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In any case, Wright is focused on taking care of business on the football field while his agent handles the other business. There is also no known animosity in the situation, so news of a deal could come very quickly.
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