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It isn’t taking Grady Jarrett long to get to work as a member of the Chicago Bears.
Better yet. Jarrett isn’t wasting any time putting in work with his new teammates.
Jason McKie, who was a Bears fullback from 2003-09 and currently works the sideline for ESPN-1000 during games, shared this clip of newly signed defensive tackle Grady Jarrett working out with teammates Gervon Dexter Sr., Austin Booker, and Montez Sweat. You just love to see this:
Love to see it, Crafting & Chemistry!@ChicagoBears D-Line working out together at
Da U with Pass Rush Specialist Coach Brandon Jordan! #Jarrett #Sweat #Dexter #Booker#Bears #🐻⬇️ pic.twitter.com/F7TtZn6iyv— Jason McKie (@Jmack37) March 22, 2025
Grady Jarrett works out with new Bears teammates
Hours after being cut by the Atlanta Falcons, the Chicago Bears swooped in to sign Grady Jarrett to a three-year deal reportedly worth more as much as $43.5 million. At first blush, I was hesitant to embrace the deal. Signing a defensive lineman entering his age-32 season gave me pause. But the more I have dug into the signing, the more I understand why the Bears front office is hitching its wagon to Jarrett as a new anchor in the middle of their defensive line. And the more I understood it, the more I liked the deal. Jarrett is already working with his teammates — especially young players like Austin Booker and Gervon Dexter Sr. — and I love seeing that.
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Grady Jarrett’s résumé is legit. He was a Pro Bowl player in 2019 and 2020, has been a team captain in Atlanta, and is a two-time Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award nominee. In other words, Jarrett has impressive production on and off the field. Hopefully, Jarrett’s past is something that can rub off on his new teammates and shape a better future for them with the Bears.
Here’s hoping Gervon Dexter Sr. and Austin Booker can pick up some tricks of the trade while working with Grady Jarrett. Dexter is coming off of a breakout second season in which he collected 5 sacks, 51 total tackles, 4 tackles-for-loss, and 19 quarterback hits. There could still be another level to his game to unlock. Perhaps Jarrett can help on that front. As for Booker, the 2024 fifth-round pick (144th overall) played on just 27 percent of the team’s defensive snaps last year. Montez Sweat was excited about the Booker selection last year. I’m curious to see how he develops after having a full NFL offseason.
It does not take the wildest imagination to envision Chicago’s football team throwing a defensive lineup that features Montez Sweat and Austin Booker coming off the edge with Grady Jarrett and Gervon Dexter Sr. as the tag team in the middle. It is just one of the many combinations new Bears Defensive Coordinator Dennis Allen could throw at opposing offenses this season. And to think, more combos could be on the horizon should General Manager Ryan Poles successfully back up what he said earlier in the month and continue adding to the defensive line.
As things stand right now, this is what the Bears defensive line depth chart looks like (via ESPN):
- LDE: Montez Sweat, Daniel Hardy, Jamree Kromah
- LDT: Grady Jarrett, Andrew Billings, Zacch Pickens
- RDT: Gervon Dexter Sr., Chris Williams, Jonathan Ford
- RDE: Dayo Odeyingbo, Austin Booker, Dominique Robinson
Even after signing Grady Jarrett and Dayo Odeyingbo, Chicago’s front office should continue to add players to the collection of talent listed above.
We’re nearly two months removed from watching the Philadelphia Eagles throw waves of defensive linemen at the Kansas City Chiefs en route to winning Super Bowl LIX and preventing a historic three-peat. If there isn’t a singular, butt-kicking, game-changing defensive lineman to be had in free agency or via trade, then it would behoove the Bears to keep bringing in worthwhile options on NFL Draft weekend. Chicago has three picks in the top 50, and this seems to be a class where there will be plenty of prospects who play defensive end or tackle and are worth drafting.
