The Bears have agreed to a deal with first-round safety Dillon Thieneman, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reports. As the 25th overall pick, Thieneman will sign a fully guaranteed contract worth $19.51MM over four years.
Chicago has also come to terms with second-round center Logan Jones, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. Jones was the 57th overall selection, which carries an approximate value of $8.47MM. It is likely he will receive a good chunk of guaranteed money.
Thieneman, who divided his three-year college career between Purdue and Oregon, entered the draft trailing Ohio State’s Caleb Downs as the second-rated safety on the board. Downs went 11th overall to the Cowboys. It was somewhat surprising Thieneman was still available 14 picks later for the Bears, who are expecting his excellence in college to transfer to the pros. The 6-foot, 201-pounder made 106 tackles and intercepted six passes as a freshman with the Boilermakers in 2023 en route to third-team All-America honors. Last year, his lone season at Oregon, he was named a first-team All-American after making 96 tackles and pulling in two picks.
The NFC North champion Bears deployed starting safeties Jaquan Brisker and Kevin Byard on over 99% of defensive snaps in 2025, but both players exited in free agency. They partially replaced those two with former Seahawk Coby Bryant, who moved to Chicago on a three-year, $40MM contract. Thieneman and Bryant are now positioned to serve as the Bears’ safety duo for at least the next few seasons.
Jones played his college ball at Iowa, which is known for churning out quality offensive linemen. That includes the game’s best center, the Raiders’ Tyler Linderbaum, whom Jones succeeded in 2022. While Jones had a tough act to follow, the former defensive tackle ended up a four-year starter in the middle of the Hawkeyes’ O-line. He earned three All-Big Ten selections during that span, and he was at his best in 2025. The 6-3, 299-pounder was a unanimous All-American who won the Rimington Trophy, which is given to the nation’s best center. Linderbaum also took home the Rimington Trophy in his last year at Iowa.
After the abrupt retirement of starting center Drew Dalman, the Bears acquired Garrett Bradbury from the Patriots in early March. Bradbury may start in 2026, but he is on track to become a free agent next offseason. So, even if Bradbury wins the job this summer, Jones could take over as the Bears’ No. 1 center by 2027.
With Thieneman and Jones set to put pen to paper, the Bears will soon have just one unsigned pick: third-round tight end Sam Roush. Here is their full class…
- Round 1, No. 25: Dillon Thieneman (S, Oregon) (signed)
- Round 2, No. 57: Logan Jones (C, Iowa) (signed)
- Round 3, No. 69 (from Giants via Texans, Bills and Titans): Sam Roush (TE, Stanford)
- Round 3, No. 89: Zavion Thomas (WR, LSU) (signed)
- Round 4, No. 124 (from Jaguars via Panthers): Malik Muhammad (CB, Texas) (signed)
- Round 5, No. 166 (from 49ers via Eagles and Panthers): Keyshaun Elliott (LB, Arizona State) (signed)
- Round 6, No. 213 (from Seahawks via Jaguars, Lions and Bills): Jordan Van Den Berg (DT, Georgia Tech) (signed)
When Rutledge signed who was taken right after Thienemen I figured the dominoes would start to fall quickly. I thought the rookie scale clause was supposed to stop all this nonsense. But I guess Agents have to find something to argue about to justify their existence. Shame. Bears are starting Mini Camp next week so they had to get things done to get them on the field.