Grady Jarrett didn’t know he felt a deep connection to the Bears organization until he walked into Halas Hall for the first time.
The 11-year defensive tackle — who signed with the Bears Wednesday — passed through the player’s entrance at the practice facility where names and numbers of the team’s all-time greats light up the hallway with each step. He toured the building where notes and nuggets of the NFL’s charter franchise paint the walls, where iconic memories of the Monsters of the Midway live.
Most notably for Jarrett, it’s also a place associated with the legendary Walter Payton. As a two-time Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee with the Falcons who has met the Payton family multiple times, joining the Bears is a joyful and poetic moment.
“The pride that I have in this place, I didn’t even know it really lived in me until I walked into the building,” Jarrett said in his introductory press conference.
“I’m just so fired up.”
Even if Jarrett hadn’t explicitly stated his emotions in that moment, they were apparent as he met the Chicago media for the first time.
The two-time Pro Bowler was locked in on the questions that were asked and confident about the talent he’s bringing to the Bears, yet humorous in his personality and honest about his first free agency experience.
Jarrett was released by the Falcons — his hometown team and where he was drafted out of Clemson in 2015 — Monday, causing a whirlwind of emotions for the 31-year-old. But, Jarrett knew that wanting to play the game for this long would inevitably lead to a moment like Monday.
“I’m in a special place in a special time in a special moment where I’m supposed to be.”
Grady Jarrett
By trusting what helped him reach this point of his career — hard work, dedication and playing the game the right way — Jarrett felt an opportunity would open up felt that his “best days are still ahead” of him.
That trust became reality once the Bears called.
“I think the perfect match came along,” Jarrett said. “When I had an opportunity to join this team, join [head coach] Ben [ Johnson and] be a part of something here — that is going to be special, me being somebody who wants to be in a position to compete for championships, encourage the younger guys around me, and just really share my experience and my hunger for greatness to others who want to achieve it.
“I’m in a special place in a special time in a special moment where I’m supposed to be. I’m just really trusting the process, and that’s how I got here.”
For Jarrett, who was born and raised in Atlanta, that will always be home. He knows how special and rare it was to spend 10 years with the same organization. It’s not something he takes lightly. But now, his focus is on Chicago. He voiced his excitement for a fresh start and to have a new situation where he felt the love was mutual.
For Johnson and general manager Ryan Poles, acquiring a veteran player who has started 137 of 152 of the regular-season games he’s played, holds the Falcons franchise record for most quarterback hits (126) and has accumulated 496 tackles, 36.5 sacks and 77 tackles for loss was more than enough for them to reciprocate Jarrett’s excitement.
When Poles saw the news of Jarrett’s release break via social media, he immediately went back to the tape, looked at the grades the Bears personnel team had in their system and made some phone calls to gain an understanding of what type person the veteran is. One of those calls was to his good friend Matt Ryan, the former Falcons quarterback and Poles’ roommate at Boston College.
“All of those things checked the box,” Poles said Wednesday. “Again, [he’s] someone that can help move this team to where it needs to go … With Grady, just being teammates with Matt Ryan, they shared a locker room and the words, how he describes that man is special. And it won’t take you long to understand that. He’s different.”
Meeting Jarrett this week had Johnson just as fired up as his new defensive tackle. While the pair haven’t spent time together previously, Johnson is all too familiar with the type of player he now has the chance to coach.
“This is a guy for a number of years now that’s played at a fantastically high level,” Johnson said. “This guy is outstanding. You feel his presence. He’s a guy you have to game plan for when you go against him. I know when I was in Detroit with Jonah [Jackson], we talked like, ‘this is a guy where … you come out of the game [and] you’re sore because you played against him.
“He’s relentless. He’s passionate about what he does. Just talking to him today gave me goosebumps because this guy loves football and he’s gonna bring that element to the team.”
Jarrett has a mutual admiration for Johnson and his capabilities on the offensive side of the ball. When the Falcons played the Lions back in 2023, when Johnson was Detroit’s offensive coordinator, Jarrett remembers a physical team that garnered respect. After meeting his new coach, Jarrett can sense Johnson’s intensity, desire to win and is ready to go play for him.
Along with the Bears’ head coach, quarterback Caleb Williams also played a factor in Jarrett’s interest in Chicago.
“Especially for a vet like myself, you want to go somewhere that’s got a good quarterback,” Jarrett said. “I think Caleb’s ceiling is super high. I’ve watched him from afar, admired him from afar since he’s been in college and I’m excited to play with him. That definitely played a factor in me coming here, because I believe that he was the No. 1 pick for a reason and his best is obviously yet to come being such a young player.”
On his side of the ball, Jarrett is extremely familiar with his new defensive coordinator Dennis Allen — who served as Saints defensive coordinator (2015-21) and head coach (2022-24) — having played against him twice a year in the NFC South.
“The respect factor is through the roof,” Jarrett said, “and the way we can play different fronts and draw different blitzes, different coverages, it’s a reason why he is as respected as he is. And for me to have an opportunity to play for him, be a part of a defense that is orchestrated by a great defensive mind, I’m excited.”
With Allen at the helm of the defense, Jarrett is ready to find out what he can accomplish alongside other members of the Bears’ defensive line, especially Pro Bowl pass rusher Montez Sweat, who Jarrett referred to as “dominant.” While he hasn’t spent much time with Sweat, Jarrett is familiar with his new teammate and fellow Atlanta resident through mutual respect and friends.
Jarrett has noticed the Bears commit significant resources to the trenches through moves like trading for and extending Sweat and Wednesday’s trades for veteran offensive linemen Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson. The defensive tackle already has his sights set on some intense training camp moments with his new teammates.
“You’re going to win the game in the trenches, offensive and defensive line,” Jarrett said. “And going through training camp, going through practice, I don’t have better guys to sharpen my sword against because they’re going to come every day and give you their all. I played against these guys, and it’s been battles.
“I think training camp’s going to be fun. It’s going to be physical. Me and Ben talked earlier. [I asked him], ‘mind a little trash talk?’ I’ll go right back with him. So, it’s going to be competitive. There’s some new energy, new vibes in the building and we want it all.”
“He’s relentless. He’s passionate about what he does. Just talking to him today gave me goosebumps because this guy loves football and he’s gonna bring that element to the team.”
Ben Johnson on Grady Jarrett
New teammates and coaches. A deep desire to win. A motivating new contract. A chance to provide leadership for a young defense. The list goes on in terms of why Jarrett is excited to be in Chicago.
Heading into his new journey, Jarrett said he feels strong. His mind is hungry to learn. While he’ll likely be one of the most veteran players in the Bears locker room, he’s confident in his abilities to produce at a high level.
His new teammates may or may not know his name yet, but he knows they’ll soon understand his willingness to put in work, spend time building relationships and push them to the next level.
“I’m not coming to just come and try and demand,” Jarrett said. “They may know of me, but they don’t know me yet. We’ve got to take time to learn each other, spend time, and we’ve got to grind together. We’ve got to bleed together. That’s what I’m excited about – being in a new place and being able to have a fresh start for myself as well. We’re all in it together.
“That’s one thing I definitely want my teammates to know. I’m going to work every day and I’m never going to ask anybody to do anything that I’m not willing to do myself. I’m just super excited to be a part of the locker room