Chicago Bears
Hall of Famer
Grading the signing of Neville Gallimore
Source: https://www.windycitygridiron.com/c...2591/grading-the-signing-of-neville-gallimore
BALTIMORE, MD - AUGUST 07: Neville Gallimore #92 of the Indianapolis Colts looks on after an NFL preseason football game against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium on August 07, 2025 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Perry Knotts/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Entering this offseason, it was clear the Chicago Bears needed to focus on the defensive line. It was definitely the weakest position group on the roster, and certainly, they were going to make major additions to that group.
Wrong.
Perhaps the Bears were heavily in on Maxx Crosby, but most reports place them in the monitoring phase only. Perhaps the Bears tried to land a defensive tackle in a trade but were unable to do so.
Regardless, at least at this point, the Bears’ biggest addition to the defensive line has been DT Neville Gallimore.
Gallimore was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in 2020 and spent the first four years of his career in Dallas. He spent 2024 with the LA Rams and 2025 with the Indianapolis Colts. 2025 was Gallimore’s best season. He recorded a career high 3.5 sacks, had a career high 9 additional pressures, and also recorded a career high 38 tackles. He played all 17 games and was on the field for 40% of the defensive snaps.
This is a replacement for Andrew Billings. Gallimore eats space but probably gets a little more consistent pressure in the passing game than Billings, something that Dennis Allen looks for in his defensive tackles.
Individually, I like Gallimore and would consider him a slight upgrade from Billings, and while he’s not incredibly young, he is still two years younger than Billings.
This one is tough to grade. Individually, it’s not flashy, but it’s a nice pickup. It’s tough not to grade this one without looking at how they approached the entire defensive line. Clearly, the Bears will add more pieces to the defensive line via the draft, but those types of picks frequently don’t start making an impact until their second or third seasons. The Bears needed to add more talent to the line via free agency, and, at least to this point, they have not. There also isn’t much left to grab across the defensive line, unless you are willing to pony up for Maxx Crosby.
I would give the Bears an F for how they approached their defensive line woes in free agency, and that brings the Gallimore signing down to a much lower grade.
GRADE: C-
Source: https://www.windycitygridiron.com/c...2591/grading-the-signing-of-neville-gallimore