Montez Sweat wasn’t thrilled with his 2024 season. He wasn’t part of a playoff team. His stats didn’t overwhelm despite the fact he occupied nearly 10 percent of the Chicago Bears’ salary cap.

The star edge rusher dealt with nagging injuries for most of the season, but he didn’t use that as an excuse. Not when he spoke to the media last week. Not during his exit interview with general manager Ryan Poles.

“We didn’t make the playoffs,” Sweat told reporters last week in a press conference. “Some of my personal goals that I didn’t meet. Yeah, it was just a disappointing year.”

Sweat knows his expectations are sky high. A total of 5.5 sacks — Sweat’s lowest since 2021 — wasn’t good enough. He had 20 in the previous two seasons combined, which helped him earn a trade to Chicago and the four-year, $98 million contract extension that came with it.

His 14.7 percent quarterback pressure rate actually was higher than in the previous year, when he had 12.5 sacks, but that didn’t matter. Sweat didn’t get home enough.

Sweat fell short of his personal goals. And he didn’t help his defense improve on the stat sheet despite an increased leadership role that showed full investment into the organization.

That has fueled Sweat’s offseason to this point. He’s taking a new approach, showing up for the full offseason program despite large parts of it being voluntary. Sweat wants to be part of the full spring experience, while trying to learn the techniques and complexities required to excel in new Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen’s scheme.

“You definitely use it as motivation knowing that you didn’t have a season as good as you wanted to or could have,” Sweat said. “Yeah, it’s in the back of my mind, but I’m just moving forward and working on what’s next.”

Sweat is going the extra mile, not only with team events. He traveled to Miami earlier this spring to train with Gervon Dexter, Austin Booker and new Bears defensive tackle Grady Jarrett. The trip was designed for Sweat to bond with his position group and not work out on an island.

Those efforts have been noticed.

“I don’t think there is anyone in this building working as hard as Montez Sweat right now,” Poles said last month during an interview with ESPN 1000. “He’s pushing weight, he’s getting strong, he’s getting in shape. He’s locked in like I’ve never seen him before.”

While the details are intricate, the overall goal is simple. Get after the quarterback. Create pressure off the edge that helps produce sacks, bad throws and takeaways.

Sweat will have more help than before in that endeavor, with Jarrett and fellow free-agent signee Dayo Odeyingbo now on the line. That should decrease the volume of double teams and chips that Sweat receives. It was a near constant last season. And while he’ll still see extra attention, upgraded talent should lessen his burden over time.

Sweat is working to reach excellent shape and be ready for a long season full of promise, where he’ll try to reach lofty goals set for himself and the team.

“I’m just doing the things I need to do as far as training, rehabbing and studying my film,” Sweat said. “Just putting myself in the best position to have a better year.”