Atlanta bet $78 million on potential, but with zero starts and underwhelming production in Georgia, this massive extension for the former Bears tackle raises serious questions.
The Chicago Bears made a big decision just before the start of the regular season.
The Bears traded defensive tackle Gervon Dexter to the Atlanta Falcons on Aug. 30, receiving a 2027 fifth-round pick and cornerback Clark Phillips III.
Phillips played college football at Utah and was drafted by the Falcons in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL Draft. It was reported in the offseason that the Bears were listening to trade offers for Dexter, and it seems the Falcons' offer impressed them the most.
Dexter was drafted by the Bears in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft out of Florida.
He started one game as a rookie but then got a much bigger role in 2024. He started all 15 games he played in, recording five sacks, 51 total tackles and four TFLs. He then started all 17 games for the Bears last year.
Dexter had a career-high six sacks last year, and the Bears decided to trade him for draft capital. The move made sense at the time. While Dexter had a career-high in sacks in his last year, he wasn't a good fit for Dennis Allen's defense.
The Bears traded him just before the final year of his rookie deal kicked off. He was on a four-year, $6.7 million contract, per Spotrac.
After being a starter on the Bears for the last two years, Dexter has yet to do the same for the Falcons. He has played every game as the backup to Maason Smith. So far, Dexter has 0.5 sacks, seven total tackles and zero TFLs.
Now, just one month later, the Falcons have awarded him a massive extension. ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Wednesday that the Falcons were giving Dexter a four-year, $78 million extension.
$46.5 million of the contract is guaranteed.
To me, this feels like the Falcons acted way too quickly.
It would be one thing if Dexter had played incredibly well through these three games. Dexter hasn't even become a starter on the Falcons' defense yet.
He's still competing for snaps behind Smith, who has never been a full-time starter, even during his time with the Jacksonville Jaguars at the beginning of his career.
It was clear that Dexter wasn't going to be a good fit for the Bears' defense. He struggles to effectively stop the run as a defensive tackle, which isn't a good sign. Yes, he can get after the quarterback, but being able to plug running lanes is very important as well.
The one thing Dexter has going for him is his 24.3% pass-rush win rate for interior defensive linemen. Finding a reliable pass rusher from the interior of the defensive line is hard, but Dexter hasn't really proved much in these three games.
The Falcons are banking on Dexter's potential, but he hasn't done enough to warrant this kind of money yet, in my opinion.
If Dexter doesn't work out in Atlanta, it may turn out to be a good thing that Chicago decided to cut ties.
