The Colts reportedly lose a young potential breakout starter along the defensive line in free agency—although not unexpectedly.
According to Fox Sports NFL Insider Jordan Schultz, the Chicago Bears are signing Indianapolis Colts free agent defensive lineman Dayo Odeyingbo to a 3-year, $48 million deal (with $32M reportedly fully guaranteed, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport).
It’s obviously a big blow for the Colts defensive line, as the former 2021 2nd round pick was a versatile, young defensive lineman who could offer a pass rushing presence both on the outside and inside—with a career-high of 8.0 sacks back in 2023.
Theoretically, Odeyingbo’s best football may still be ahead of him—which is what the Bears appear to be banking on in early free agency with this new lucrative multi-year deal.
This past season, the former All-First-Team SEC defensive lineman out of Vanderbilt recorded 31 tackles (13 solo), 7 tackles for loss, 3.0 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery during 17 games (14 starts).
He graded out as PFF’s 54th best edge defender with a +66.1 overall grade.
Given recent national media reports, it seemed like a foregone conclusion that Odeyingbo may be ‘priced-out’ of what the Colts could realistically bring him back for—given the more glaring roster holes elsewhere, unless further roster cap cuts were made.
That being said, it still stings to lose a 25-year-old, former 2nd round pick with some pass rushing presence and clear upside—especially with the Colts having sat through almost a rookie redshirt year of sorts back in 2021 for his torn Achilles (suffered at Vandy) to fully recover.
While Odeyingbo has developed into at least a solid starting defensive lineman, it’s a miss for the Colts front office when a former 2nd round pick didn’t land a second NFL contract with Indianapolis. Instead, it’ll be with the Colts’ Midwestern neighbors up on I-65N.
