CHICAGO — The big dollars and gaudy contract terms flying around Monday morning when doors to the NFL’s negotiating window swung open — a 52-hour period that leads into the start of the new league year and free agency at 4 p.m. ET Wednesday — offered one important reminder:

It’s good for the Chicago Bears that the April draft is deep with edge rushers and includes some talented defensive tackles.

The Bears need to get better up front on defense, a year after they struggled to consistently pressure opposing quarterbacks and stop the run. So, it wasn’t a surprise that the first player they added was defensive tackle Neville Gallimore, a seven-year veteran who spent last season with the Indianapolis Colts.

It’s a modest $10 million, two-year deal for Gallimore with a chance to earn an additional $2 million. He’s guaranteed $5 million and gives the Bears needed depth and flexibility on the interior, as Grady Jarrett and Gervon Dexter Sr. were the only two tackles on the roster when the day began. He’s expected to replace Andrew Billings as a key cog in the middle on run downs and should be a little more disruptive in the pocket.

Not surprisingly, the Bears were busy on defense with the biggest deal being for safety Coby Bryant, who had four interceptions last season for the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks. He agreed to terms on a $40 million, three-year contract with $25.75 million guaranteed, which effectively makes him the replacement for All-Pro Kevin Byard III. The team spoke openly about prioritizing a reunion with Byard, who turns 33 in August, but made Bryant the No. 1 target when a second contract couldn’t be reached.

Bryant runs well, and general manager Ryan Poles was candid last month when talking about the desire to improve overall speed on defense. That trend continued with the addition of linebacker Devin Bush, who agreed to a $30 million, three-year contract following a breakout season in Cleveland for the 2019 first-round draft pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Bears also got a two-year deal in place to bring back linebacker D’Marco Jackson, so they’ll be paying Bush and Jackson slightly less than Tremaine Edmunds had been set to earn in 2026. Left tackle Braxton Jones agreed to a one-year contract to return and third quarterback Case Keenum also got a deal from the Bears.

There were big moves around the league for big men. By early evening, nine contracts had been agreed to with an annual average value of $20 million or more and five of those went to linemen. Coveted center Tyler Linderbaum not only smashed the record for pay at his position, he topped all interior offensive linemen in getting an $81 million, three-year contract from the freewheeling Las Vegas Raiders.

Defensive end Jaelan Phillips got a $120 million, four-year contract from the Carolina Panthers, the biggest deal of the day. Other defensive linemen cashing in included Odafe Oweh (Washington Commanders, $100 million, four years), John Franklin-Myers (Tennessee Titans, $63 million, three years) and Boye Mafe (Cincinnati Bengals, $60 million, three years).

Mafe had two sacks last season and has totaled eight over the previous two seasons. Oweh has reached double-digits in sacks once in five seasons, with 10 for Baltimore in 2024. Add in a $48 million, three-year contract that defensive end Kwity Paye got from the Raiders coming off a four-sack season in Indianapolis, and the price for middle-of-the-road edge rushers on the open market is eye-opening for sure.

Whether the Bears were in on trade talks with the Raiders for Maxx Crosby until the end or actively monitored the situation (or fell somewhere between the two), the reality remains that there is a lot of work for Poles, coach Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Dennis Allen to do. With an extra second-round pick from the Buffalo Bills for the trade of wide receiver DJ Moore and four picks in the top 89 draft selections, there will be opportunities to improve the talent and depth of the group.

The Bears went into free agency with limited resources compared to many previous offseasons and that was reflected in a smaller core of additions. But after winning the NFC North with an 11-6 record, they no longer have to feel pressured to win the offseason with big investments that too often return pennies on the dollar.

Cincinnati Bengals edge rusher Trey Hendrickson didn’t get a deal in the early wave of free agency and it’s unlikely the Bears are interested in creating the cap space required to add a player who will be entering his 10th season.

Replacing their most significant free-agent piece in Byard with Bryant makes the Bears younger. Bryant turns 27 later this month and while Byard’s veteran presence in the locker room was appreciated by coaches and teammates alike, Bryant comes from a winning program.

Poles solidified the second level of the defense with Bush and Jackson to go along with T.J. Edwards, who will be returning from a fractured fibula. That leaves cornerback as an unresolved position. Unless the Bears are fully comfortable with the idea of handing a starting job to Tyrique Stevenson, they need to re-sign Nahshon Wright (who played 97% of the snaps last season) or find another cornerback.

Plenty of players around the league will find multi-year contracts on Tuesday, but soon the vast majority of signings will be one-year deals. The Bears had success last year getting players like Wright, cornerback Nick McCloud, tight end Durham Smythe, wide receiver Olamide Zaccheaus and returner Devin Duvernay on one-year contracts.

Surely, the team will re-sign a few more of their own. Poles is always monitoring possible additions via the trade market, but soon focus will shift to the draft, where the Bears can hope to stock the defensive front with players on cost-controlled rookie contracts. That would be a plus because Monday’s flurry of action underscored how costly it is to buy those guys.

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