Current:Home > NewsBears finally come to terms with first-round picks, QB Caleb Williams and WR Rome Odunze -AdvancementTrade
Bears finally come to terms with first-round picks, QB Caleb Williams and WR Rome Odunze
View
Date:2025-04-25 11:01:39
Tuesday was the first day of training camp for the Chicago Bears' rookies – two of them becoming very rich men just in the nick of time.
Quarterback Caleb Williams and wide receiver Rome Odunze became among the league's final first-round draft picks of 2024 to reach terms on their initial NFL contracts. This year's No. 1 overall pick out of USC, Williams, per reports, agreed a four-year pact worth a fully guaranteed $39.5 million ($25.5 million of it earmarked as a signing bonus) by slotting at the the top of the board. Widely projected as a generational prospect, he joins a roster much stronger than most top selections enjoy and could immediately restore Chicago to contending status.
Odunze, a University of Washington product chosen ninth overall, is expected to be one of Williams' top targets well into the future – though he may have to take a backseat to the likes of veteran wideouts DJ Moore and Keenan Allen and established tight end Cole Kmet in 2024. Odunze is guaranteed $22.7 million over the next four seasons.
As first-rounders, Williams and Odunze could be retained on balloon payment fifth-year options in 2028 assuming they've fulfilled expectations to that point but haven't yet signed extensions (both will be eligible for one in 2027).
NFL OFFSEASON GRADES: Bears break curve with only A+
All things Bears: Latest Chicago Bears news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.
Coming off a 7-10 season, Chicago is looking for its first playoff campaign since 2020 and first postseason win since the 2010 season but will have to successfully navigate a highly competitive NFC North to meet those objectives.
Bears veterans are set to report to camp Friday. Chicago is among the league's first teams to show up for work this summer since it will kick off the preseason Aug. 1 against the Houston Texans in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio.
***Follow USA TODAY Sports' Nate Davis on X, formerly Twitter, @ByNateDavis.
veryGood! (5992)
Related
- Head of the Federal Aviation Administration to resign, allowing Trump to pick his successor
- Stocks drop as fears grow about the global banking system
- Watchdogs Tackle the Murky World of Greenwash
- Brother of San Francisco mayor gets sentence reduced for role in girlfriend’s 2000 death
- 'Most Whopper
- The Collapse Of Silicon Valley Bank
- Silicon Valley Bank failure could wipe out 'a whole generation of startups'
- China has reappointed its central bank governor, when many had expected a change
- Small twin
- Why the Paris Climate Agreement Might be Doomed to Fail
Ranking
- Intel's stock did something it hasn't done since 2022
- Bison severely injures woman in Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota
- Novo Nordisk will cut some U.S. insulin prices by up to 75% starting next year
- Biden reassures bank customers and says the failed firms' leaders are fired
- Sam Taylor
- In-N-Out to ban employees in 5 states from wearing masks
- Why the Paris Climate Agreement Might be Doomed to Fail
- Let Us Steal You For a Second to Check In With the Stars of The Bachelorette Now
Recommendation
Federal appeals court upholds $14.25 million fine against Exxon for pollution in Texas
Inside the emerald mines that make Colombia a global giant of the green gem
After 2 banks collapsed, Sen. Warren blames the loosening of restrictions
A Climate Progressive Leads a Crowded Democratic Field for Pittsburgh’s 12th Congressional District Seat
Alex Murdaugh’s murder appeal cites biased clerk and prejudicial evidence
Video: Carolina Tribe Fighting Big Poultry Joined Activists Pushing Administration to Act on Climate and Justice
Ray J Calls Out “Fly Guys” Who Slid Into Wife Princess Love’s DMs During Their Breakup
Tourists flock to Death Valley to experience near-record heat wave