Chicago Bears sign DL Jayden Loving

Jayden Loving's three-year, $3.12M deal with the Bears earns a fair-deal grade on the Contract Value Index (CVI), sitting comfortably in the range you'd expect for a depth-piece signing at a position where the Bears have some organizational flexibility this offseason. At a $1.04M AAV, this is essentially a minimum-scale contract for a defensive lineman, which means Chicago is taking on almost no financial risk — the kind of low-cost roster-building move that makes sense when you're trying to fortify a depth chart heading into a regular season that's still several months away. Loving profiles as a roster-filler or rotational piece at this stage of his career, and the contract structure reflects that assessment honestly rather than overcorrecting with inflated guarantees. The $245K in guaranteed money is the telling number here — it's modest enough that the Bears can move on without significant dead-cap consequences if he doesn't carve out a role, which keeps the CVI from dipping any lower despite the lack of proven production to justify a longer-term commitment. What gives this deal its modest upside is that three-year term — if Loving develops into a serviceable rotation piece on the interior, Chicago will have locked in below-market value at a position where mid-contract upgrades can get expensive quickly. The downside is minimal given the financial exposure, and for a team with an 11-6 record and real NFC positioning to protect, adding no-risk depth signings at discounted rates is exactly the kind of portfolio management a front office should be doing right now.