The Bears are getting their top two draft picks under contract.
Safety Dillon Thieneman and center Logan Jones have both agreed to terms on their rookie deals, according to a report from NFL Network.
Thieneman, the No. 25 overall pick of this year’s draft, was selected out of Oregon. He transferred there last year after playing his first two collegiate seasons with Purdue.
Once Thieneman signs, there will be just seven 2026 first-round picks yet to put pen to paper.
Jones, the No. 57 overall pick this season, played his college ball at Iowa. He was the Rimington Trophy winner in 2025 as the best center in college football.
In late March, the Bears made their position clear regarding a new stadium — Arlington Heights or Hammond, Indiana.
Don’t take my word for it, as if you ever would. Bears CEO Kevin Warren appeared on PFT Live from the annual league meetings. We asked him, point blank, whether there’s a chance that, as the team explores Arlington Heights vs. Hammond, the clouds will part and Chicago will emerge as the solution.
“That’s a great question, but we strongly believe the only site in the state of Illinois, Cook County, is Arlington Heights,” Warren said.
That was March. Then came April. As reported by Justin Laurence of Crain’s Chicago Business, at least six calls and virtual meetings occurred between the team and Chicago attorneys from April 3 through April 22.
On April 22, the Illinois House of Representatives approved a bill that would have made Arlington Heights far more attractive, by virtue of significantly reducing the team’s property-tax obligation.
The timeline of the communications supports the notion that the team has been considering Chicago as a Plan B, in the event Arlington Heights doesn’t work out as the Plan A.
The team contends that the communications with the city focused on the lease at Soldier Field. Laurence, citing unnamed sources within Chicago City Hall, disputes that claim.
Overall, the report lends credence to the recent claim from Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson that Chicago remains a viable contender to host the team’s new stadium.
The end result is that no one knows what’s going to happen with the Bears’ stadium effort. And no one seems to know what the Bears truly want.
It’s possible that the confusing cascade of conflicting developments and potential motivations is part of a 5D game of chess. It’s also possible that the Bears are playing checkers with Thurman Merman.
The Steelers’ decision to move quickly to give linebacker Nick Herbig a four-year, $100 million extension makes the organization’s feeling about the 2023 fourth-round pick clear. As to two other pass rushers on the Pittsburgh roster, it raises questions.
It’s the first time that a team has given a backup a $100 million contract. Which means that Herbig possibly won’t be a backup on Mike McCarthy’s initial official depth chart.
Linebacker T.J. Watt, a first-round pick in 2017, signed a three-year, $123 million extension in 2025. He’s making $41 million per year.
In 2023, linebacker Alex Highsmith (a third-round pick in 2020) signed a four-year, $68 million extension. His new-money APY is $17 million.
The Steelers could keep all three of them, at least for a year. Or they could sit back and wait to see if another team makes them an offer, for either Watt or Highsmith.
Trading Watt would avoid $32 million in guaranteed pay for 2026, while triggering a $10 million cap charge in 2026 and a $20 million cap charge in 2027. Trading Highsmith would avoid his $14.5 million salary for 2026, with a cap charge of $5.6 million in 2026 and a $5.6 million cap charge in 2027.
Chances are the phone has already been ringing. That’s how it goes. Teams always explore whether other players are available, and what it could take to get them.
Given the value of pass rushers — and given that plenty of teams are looking for more of them (the Bears could use one, badly) — the Herbig deal becomes a de facto invitation for other teams to make an offer, for either Watt or Highsmith.
Bears coach Ben Johnson says June is no time to evaluate his offensive and defensive lines.
Asked how his linemen are playing in non-contact spring practices, Johnson said there’s no way to evaluate that. In training camp, when the players are in pads and hitting each other, he’ll know how his lines look.
“We’ll know everything when the pads come on,” Johnson said. “Right now, to evaluate offensive line and defensive line play is fool’s gold. You always fall in love with some guys in the spring time and that always changes.
Johnson did say that when he’s in the line meetings, he’s impressed with how well the players are picking up what the coaches are teaching.
“I’m really pleased with the teaching progression, I’ve been able to sit in on some meetings, I love how the coaches are going about their business, I like how the players are responding to it right now, we’re all on the same page, we’re speaking the same language, and that’s always a good starting point,” Johnson said.
But it’s only a start. Until the pads are on, the linemen aren’t showing what they can do.
Rome Odunze missed five games last season with a left foot injury and was hampered by it in others. So, the Bears wide receiver’s answer to a question about whether his foot felt normal again had to set off alarms in Chicago.
“It’s not from a standpoint that I’m like always in pain, but the way my foot broke, there’s calluses in there that creates a different type of foot structure with those bones — different things that kind of shifts things around,” Odunze said Wednesday, via Jay Cohen of the Associated Press. “So my new normal was kind of what I am going into. And I don’t think that’s anything that’s going to prohibit me or keep me from making plays.”
The Bears traded veteran wide receiver DJ Moore to Buffalo this offseason, creating a bigger need for Odunze to remain healthy and productive. Odunze made 54 catches for 734 yards and three touchdowns as a rookie before 44 receptions for 661 yards and six touchdowns last season.
“For me, I just want to be the best receiver possible for this team,” Odunze said. “I feel like I provide many assets to do that, and I’m comfortable with a lot of the target share, as well as the other guys getting involved so we can be the best offense possible.”
Most of Odunze’s production came in the first four games of last season, before his foot injury, when he had 20 receptions for 296 yards and five touchdowns in the first four games.
“It was tough,” Odunze said of his injury. “Obviously, I was gearing up for a great season. I felt like I was on track to have that, and injuries are part of the game. Unfortunately, I feel like it affected me more than injuries have in the past.”
