The Bears have signed nose tackle Eddie Goldman to a four-year contract extension that will keep him in Chicago through the 2022 season. According to NFL.com's Ian Rapoport, the deal is worth more than $42 million with $25 million guaranteed.
That means the 2015 second-round pick out of Florida State will be among the league's highest-paid nose tackles, earning $10.5 million annually, on average (though he ranks 12th among all defensive tackles, according to Spotrac).
"This is a key extension for the future of the Bears and an anchor for our defense," general manager Ryan Pace said, via the team's official website. "We are excited to be able to reward one of our own in Eddie. We put pride in drafting and developing players and Eddie has put the work in every day to earn this opportunity."
Goldman's new contract continues to solidify a young Bears defense that now includes Khalil Mack, 2018 rookie first-rounder Roquan Smith, and former first-round picks Leonard Floyd and Kyle Fuller. And the expectation is that the unit, which ranked 23rd in 2016 and 14th last season, according to Football Outsiders' metrics, will grow into a top-10 defense in '18. Given the playmakers on offense -- starting with quarterback Mitchell Trubisky and including running backs Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen, tight end Trey Burton and wideouts Allen Robinson and Kevin White -- it's not unreasonable to think that the Bears accomplish something they haven't done since 2013: Finish .500 or better.
Chicago faces a tough test in its season opener, traveling to Green Bay where the Packers are 7.5-point favorites. Half the CBSSports.com experts think the Bears will cover the spread though none of them expect Chicago to win on the road against a healthy Aaron Rodgers.