NFL NEWS: Following Commanders WR Terry McLaurin Trade Request 23 Hours Ago, Washington Commanders Have no Choice but to trade the Star Wide-Receiver Who Recently Signed a 4-yrs Deal with Commanders Last Season, According Shams Charania 15-minutes ago, Chicago Bears Have Officially traded for Star WR Terry McLaurin in Exchange for Washington Commanders will Receive 2026 2nd Round Picks and a Young WR In Chicago Bears Roster.. View Details…..

Two weeks after the Chicago Bears’ trade acquisition of former Pro Bowl guard Jonah Jackson, the team extended him but didn’t take on much more future liability in the process. We’ll take a deeper dive into Jackson’s one-year extension and how it’ll impact the Bears moving forward.

During the week leading up to free agency, general manager Ryan Poles and his staff sought an aggressive journey to fortify the team’s interior offensive line. After Trey Smith was franchise-tagged at the combine, it became clear that the team would be required to get creative to accomplish their offseason goals. First, the front office sat down with multiple agents at the combine to gauge the potential markets of the top names. Those names included Will Fries (who missed all but five games in 2024 with a broken tibia), Aaron Banks (who has struggled with consistency), Mekhi Becton (who had a career year under the best offensive line coach in the game), and of course, Drew Dalman, who the Chicago Bears ultimately signed to a three-year, $42 million at the start of the legal negotiation period.

Once Poles and his staff realized there was far more risk in a shallow free agent class than a reward, he aggressively pursued trade options. Within 24 hours, the Bears had a pair of new starting guards. Jonah Jackson was the first of the two moves. The former Detroit Lion was acquired for a 2025 6th-round pick. The next day, the Bears made the first shocking move of the offseason, landing All-Pro Joe Thuney for a 2026 4th-round selection.

When healthy, Jackson has played at a Pro Bowl level. That led him to sign a three-year, $51 million deal with the Los Angeles Rams at the start of last year’s negotiation period. Unfortunately for both parties, a training camp injury and a position change led to a disappointing lone season in Los Angeles. This opened the door for first-year head coach Ben Johnson to acquire someone he knew.

Jackson’s remaining two-year contract that the Bears acquired was in question. While Spotrac had his cap hit sitting at $17.5 million for 2025, and $17 million for 2026 due to a pair of $8 million roster bonuses, Over The Cap had terms slightly different, with consecutive cap figures of $11.83 million over the next two seasons. A few days after the trade was made official, the NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported that the team had given Jackson a one-year extension. It confused fans, especially coming off a poor season in 2024.

It took a few days to get the final numbers and overall details from the one-year extension, but they are finally complete.