The Bears have signed guard Cody Whitehair to a five-year, $52.5 million extension of his rookie contract that includes $27.5 million in guaranteed money, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported.
The move was highly anticipated coming into training camp and consistent with general manager Ryan Pace’s strategy of locking up proven young players to long-term deals just prior to the start of the regular season. Whitehair, a second-round draft pick in 2016 (56th overall) out of Kansas State, has been a starter since his rookie season — and has started all 49 games since coming to the Bears. He made the Pro Bowl as an alternate at center last season, but has moved to his college position of guard for 2019.