{"id":119975,"date":"2025-06-11T00:09:12","date_gmt":"2025-06-11T00:09:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/119975\/"},"modified":"2025-06-11T00:09:12","modified_gmt":"2025-06-11T00:09:12","slug":"bears-grady-jarrett-responds-to-questions-about-wearing-iconic-jersey-number","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/119975\/","title":{"rendered":"Bears Grady Jarrett Responds to Questions About Wearing Iconic Jersey Number"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bears Grady Jarrett Responds to Questions About Wearing Iconic Jersey Number<\/a> originally appeared on Athlon Sports<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Chicago Bears have been aggressive this offseason, retooling their roster with major talent on both sides of the ball. After adding firepower on offense and reinforcements on defense, one signing in particular has sparked both excitement and debate. A key defensive addition\u2014a 10-year veteran\u2014was handed one of the most iconic jersey numbers in franchise history. And now, he\u2019s speaking out on what it means to wear it.<\/p>\n

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Grady Jarrett, the Bears\u2019 prized free agent signing on the defensive line, brings with him a decade of experience and leadership. The 32-year-old defensive tackle spent his entire career with the Atlanta Falcons before signing with Chicago.<\/p>\n

Jarrett suffered an ACL tear in October 2023 but made a full recovery and played all 17 games for Atlanta in the 2024 season, recording 53 total tackles, 30 solo tackles, 23 assisted tackles, 2.5 sacks, and 12.5 tackles for loss. Now far removed from the injury, he enters his first year with Chicago.<\/p>\n

\"Chicago<\/p>\n

Chicago Bears logo on a helmetGetty Images<\/p>\n

He sat down with Jeff Joniak, Tom Thayer, and Jim Miller on the Chicago Bears Podcast<\/a> to talk about his transition\u2014and the number on his back.<\/p>\n

‘Number 50 was my first number that I had playing football,’ Jarrett said. ‘I really wore 50 all the way through high school through college. Then when I first got in the league, they really wasn\u2019t letting linemen wear 50s… so 97 was open \u2014 that\u2019s how I got 97 in Atlanta.’<\/p>\n

When he joined the Bears, 97 was already taken by Andrew Billings. Jarrett saw that 50 was available and thought it could be a ‘full circle moment.’<\/p>\n

\"Grady<\/p>\n

Grady JarrettGetty Images<\/p>\n

Jarrett didn\u2019t make the decision lightly.<\/p>\n

‘I wanted to check and make sure ’cause I know Mike Singletary wore 50 here,’ he said. ‘So I asked and I looked in, but I seen guys been wearing 50 for the past couple years… Then I start getting people like, ‘Why isn\u2019t 50 retired?’ I\u2019m like, look, nobody said nothing else to nobody about 50. Then I come get 50.’<\/p>\n

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Aware of the weight that comes with it, he added:<\/p>\n

‘I know what the weight it holds and I definitely understand the significance… It just gives me motivation to try to be my best. You know what I’m saying? And I know that means a lot to Bears fans. So, you know, I got to go do what I got to do to represent.’<\/p>\n

For Jarrett, the jersey number represents both familiarity and expectation. As a veteran presence on the defensive line, he understands the attention that comes with wearing No. 50. While the number carries a strong legacy in Chicago, Jarrett appears focused on contributing to the team\u2019s overall success and letting his play speak for itself.<\/p>\n

With 10 years of NFL experience and consistent production, his presence could become a major factor in elevating the Bears\u2019 defensive front.<\/p>\n

Related: Bears Rookie Trolls Green Bay Packers After Huge Roster Move<\/a><\/p>\n

Related: Colston Loveland Injury Update: Latest on Chicago Bears’ Prized Rookie<\/a><\/p>\n

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports<\/a> on Jun 10, 2025, where it first appeared.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Bears Grady Jarrett Responds to Questions About Wearing Iconic Jersey Number originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The Chicago…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":119976,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2070],"tags":[12836,254,374,692,391,2493,1156,7,1511,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-119975","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago-bears","8":"tag-andrew-billings","9":"tag-atlanta-falcons","10":"tag-bears","11":"tag-chicago","12":"tag-chicago-bears","13":"tag-chicagobears","14":"tag-defensive-line","15":"tag-football","16":"tag-grady-jarrett","17":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114661829173477153","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119975","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=119975"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119975\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/119976"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119975"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=119975"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=119975"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}