Danny Trevathan gutted out some brutal seasons after joining the Bears in 2016, and he wasn’t about to leave now that the defense is chasing a championship.
Trevathan bypassed free agency, which begins Wednesday, and signed a three-year extension with the Bears on Friday. The deal is worth $24 million with $14 million guaranteed, NFL Network reported.
“You don’t want to mess up stuff that’s already good,” he said. “I feel like this was home. They’ve been nothing but good to me. I feel like we have something special here. My work here is not done. The whole goal is to bring a Super Bowl back here, and I feel like we’re so close. I didn’t want to shy away from that.”
Trevathan’s future was in question after he missed much of last season with a dislocated elbow and saw backup Nick Kwiatkoski thrive in his place. Kwiatkoski also is an unrestricted free agent, and the Trevathan signing indicates the Bears likely won’t try to match what he draws on the open market.
Trevathan turns 30 this month, but there has been no indication of decline. He led the Bears with 70 tackles at the time of his injury.
Even for a player who already has exceeded $30 million in earnings, the new deal is monumental for him. Few would’ve predicted he’d have such a brilliant career when he slipped to the sixth round of the draft coming out of Kentucky.
“I fought my way up from the bottom, No. 188,” Trevathan said. “I’ll never forget it. It’s fun. I enjoyed it. It’s a blessing.”
Trevathan also has been following the players’ union vote on the proposed collective bargaining agreement. Players have until 10:59 p.m. Saturday to vote.
He declined to say whether he voted or supported the proposal but indicated he would be fine with a 17-game schedule.
“If we go to the playoffs, we’re gonna play 17 games anyway,” he said.
That sounds like a yes vote.
The Bears also made a move to retain defensive end Roy Robertson-Harris, tendering the restricted free agent a contract Friday.
They gave him a second-round tender, sources said, meaning any team wanting to sign Robertson-Harris would have to give the Bears a second-round pick to do so. That won’t happen, which means he is set to return on a $3.3 million deal.
