The Bears haven't done anything in, like, four days and I'm bored. I was promised fireworks all offseason, and I'm starting to think they never actually had plans to add a franchise-changing, All-Pro caliber free agent every day of the offseason.
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So now that leaves us with having to generate our own outrage – which is a major ask on Monday morning. You'd think the Bears would think of their fans every now and again. Fortunately, the NFL is right in the middle of that fun time on the calendar when teams just toss money around like it's not real (because it's not), and the Texans started the week off with a big one: according to Adam Schefter, they agreed to record-setting terms with star young cornerback Derek Stingley Jr.
Jaylon Johnson's contract extension already looks like the biggest bargain in the NFL
"Record deal: Texans All-Pro CB Derek Stingley Jr has agreed to a three-year, $90 million extension including $89 million guaranteed," he reported on Monday morning. "At $30M base value per year, Stingley is now the highest paid defensive back in NFL history. The CB market has been completely reset."
Kinda weird that the Texans refused to guarantee that last million, but that's neither here nor there. $30 million for Stingley is certainly ... something. There's no denying he's one of the better young cornerbacks in football, and you're only the highest-paid player at a position until you're not, but still: that is a ton.
And if we don't even need to bend that far backwards to find the Bears spin here. Now that $30 million per year is the asking price for elite defensive backs, let's take a look at the $30 million per year extension that Ryan Poles gave Jaylon Johnson a little over a year ago. *Taps ear piece* I'm being told that, actually, it wasn't worth $30 million per? And it actually averages just at just about $19 million? Ah. Interesting. (I know this is an insufferable bit, I'm sorry. I'm trying to tone it down.)
While we're at it, let's throw a bunch of arbitrary stats together to prove my point. Here's how the two compared last season, brought to you by the internet's favorite stat nerds at Pro Football Focus:
Stingley: 73.9 overall grade (30th out of 222), 74.9 coverage grade (22nd), 38 receptions allowed (56th), 10 PBUs (6th)
Johnson: 76.2 overall grade (18th), 74.2 coverage grade (28th), 32 receptions allowed (74th), 4 PBUs (65th)
Stingley had more plays on the ball – his 5 interceptions were 3rd in the NFL – but unlike Stingley, Johnson's actually a playable run defender, so we'll call that a wash. They were very similar players in 2024, and the Bears are now getting Johnson's production for significantly less. Applauding billion-dollar entities for not paying their labor as much always feels a little icky, but Ryan Poles probably deserves a light golf clap for how Johnson's contract is already aging. Now get back out there and start tossing all that saved money around – the Bears still have an offseason to win.