Grady Jarrett spent his first decade in the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons, his hometown team.
After Atlanta cut the veteran defensive lineman, the Chicago Bears were quick to sign him to a three-year, $42.75 million deal. Just ten days after joining his new team, Jarrett linked up with Montez Sweat, Gervon Dexter Sr., and Austin Booker in Miami to start building chemistry with each other.
“When I first signed with the team, you saw us down in Miami working out together, G (Gervon Dexter) put that together, he invited me,” Jarrett said. “I thought that was a big gesture for him to invite me to hang out with them, spend some time working on our craft. I was able to meet him and Montez before I came into the building. I think that's been good for our relationship even before we got in the building, and that just showed his willingness to try to take that next step.”
Outside of Dominique Robinson, who was drafted in the seventh round in 2022, Dexter and Andrew Billings have been with the Bears the longest among the current defensive linemen. Dexter was selected No. 53 overall in the 2023 NFL Draft, and Billings signed with the Bears on March 16 of that year. Sweat was traded for that same season, but didn't join the team until October 31.
Gervon Dexter Sr. has a new role with the Chicago Bears
Dexter has shown growth since his rookie season, securing career highs in total tackles (51), sacks (5), fumbles recovered (2), and stuffs (4). It's not just the on-field production that has improved, but also Dexter's leadership.
“You can see him and you can see the work he is putting in the weight room away from the facility,” Jarrett said. “He was here early. He spends extra time with coach, I think year three is such a critical time where you could take that big leap. You play some football, you can get more comfortable, and now you can know how to apply things and really take that big step. I'm excited to see what happened to him. I think our styles complement each other very well, and I can't wait to continue to go hunt with the guy.”
It wasn't just a one-time occurence for Dexter to reach out to teammates. He also did something similar when the Bears drafted Shemar Turner from Texas A&M with the 62nd overall pick. Sean Spencer is the defensive line coach at Texas A&M and coached Turner last season, and Spencer also was the defensive line coach at Florida when Dexter played.
“Right when the Bears drafted Shemar, the first FaceTime I got was one Gervon Dexter,” Spencer said. “‘Coach, tell me about this guy.’ You know what I'm saying. ‘Tell me about this guy.’ He wanted his number, he wants to connect with him. He said, ‘We're going to grow together, work together, and we're going to get better together.’ That's just the type of person you're getting, and both of those guys are the same.”
Dexter is taking the right approach for the start of his third season in the NFL. As Jarrett said, Year 3 is a “big leap” for Dexter, and he needs to prove he can become a consistent disruptor and run stopper throughout the course of a season. After securing four sacks in the first five weeks in Year 2, he only registered one sack in the remaining 10 games.
As with most leaders, they lead by example. If Dexter can create that consistency in his game this upcoming season, he should be in line to make his greatest impact thus far in his NFL career.