Bears Reportedly Looking For A Way Out Of Dayo Odeyingbo Contract — Here’s How
Signing Dayo Odeyingbo in free agency last year was easy to understand. The Chicago Bears desperately needed help at defensive end opposite Montez Sweat. Odeyingbo had some success in Indianapolis and had the body type that new defensive coordinator Dennis Allen seemed to covet. Things even got off to a great start, getting a sack on opening night against Minnesota. Then things just seemed to fizzle. Odeyingbo was mostly invisible for the next six weeks, having minimal impact as a pass rusher.
Then he tore his Achilles in the win over Cincinnati.
He was done for the season and faced a grueling recovery. The Bears were left wondering when he would return and what sort of impact he could have when he did. After all, they’d just seen him fully healthy, and it wasn’t as impressive as they’d hoped. That might explain what Bill Zimmerman of Windy City Gridiron kept hearing in San Francisco during Super Bowl week. There is a strong belief that Chicago may look for a way out of Odeyingbo’s contract to get him off the roster.
“I think if the Bears can get an injury settlement with Dayo Odeyingbo, they will do that and get him off the roster. He didn’t play well last year. Who knows how much he’s going to play in 2026? Whatever he does play, he’s going to be compromised coming off that injury, and he has no guaranteed money in 2027. It makes very little sense to keep him, but that depends on what they can accomplish, since he has plenty of guaranteed money coming his way in 2026.”
The Bears waiving Dayo Odeyingbo won’t be about cap space.
Injury settlements don’t work that way. They’re a method for teams to avoid paying a high guaranteed salary to somebody who likely won’t play for an extended period. It works like this. The two sides discuss an injury settlement by determining how many weeks a player will miss before returning from his injury. Once a number is agreed upon, the team pays the player a single lump sum for those weeks and then releases him. Any weeks that were on his contract beyond the agreed-upon number count as cap relief.
The Bears don’t really have an elegant way to dump this contract. A post-June 1st cut would still leave them with $17.5 million in dead cap and only $3 million in space. An injury settlement would be their best chance to stop the bleeding. While they would still have to pay him his guarantees, they’d at least be able to escape any non-guaranteed salary. Then they could go into 2027 completely free of that contract. Yes, $3 million may not sound like much, but given where Dayo Odeyingbo is right now, it’s better than nothing.
| Comparison | Snaps | Sacks | Pressures |
| Dayo Odeyingbo | 207 | 1 | 10 |
| Dominique Robinson | 135 | 3 | 13 |
Give the Bears credit for recognizing their mistake.
Many teams would stubbornly stay the course, hoping they could somehow squeeze some sort of production out of their investment. GM Ryan Poles has been pretty good about avoiding that during his tenure in charge. He quickly shipped out Chase Claypool one year after trading for him when it became clear the receiver was practically worthless. Right guard Nate Davis was dumped just over a year after the Bears signed him in 2024. The Bears don’t linger on bad investments for long.
Hoping Odeyingbo will suddenly become a factor on defense coming off a torn Achilles is wishful thinking. Yes, the Bears will have to eat the dead money, but they’ve done that before. Don’t forget how much they stomached in 2022 as Poles tore down the roster to rebuild. Things are in a far better place this time. They can survive it. Better to give Odeyingbo’s spot to somebody who can actually contribute in 2026. The only challenge will be finding out who that is.