To honor some of the team's fathers, ChicagoBears.com spoke with five dads on the defensive line to learn about their favorite parts of fatherhood, what being a dad means to them and more.

Grady Jarrett

Two days after Grady Jarrett begins his 11th NFL season, his son, Grayson, will turn four years old. For his entire life, Grayson has known his dad as a big-time football player. He's attended games since he was a newborn, making this year his fifth season he will his dad in action.

While Grayson looks up to his father on and off the field, Grady takes just as much pride in his son.

"I entered a whole new chapter, a new phase of life, new challenge," Jarrett said. "That was just a love that you don't really understand until you have a child. But it's been a major, major blessing. I mean, it's what my life revolves around now. Every decision that I make, I have my son on my mind — everything I do, what I want his future, his life to look like on a daily basis."

The thing about Grayson is he's an energizer bunny, as Jarrett describes him. The only time he's at zero is when he's asleep. All other hours of the day, he's at 100. By the time Jarrett walks in the house after work, his son is ready to play until bedtime. Whether it's playing little games like throwing the ball back and forth, roughhousing and wrestling, playing Pokémon or even working in the weight room, Grady and Grayson always know how to have a good time together.

Grayson's energetic personality is something Jarrett knows he didn't have himself as a child, opting to hide behind his mother's leg while amongst strangers. For Grayson, making new friends is a hobby and one he showed off at Halas Hall in March when Jarrett brought his family in for his contract signing and introductory press conference.

Since Jarrett signed with the Bears, Grayson has been proudly sporting his navy and orange gear. With Grayson reaching an age where he can better understand sports, Jarrett knows his upcoming years with the Bears might be the ones his son remembers the most. He intends to make those memories count.

"Especially as he's gotten older, he knows when I'm out there," Jarrett said. "He knows daddy plays football. He's proud about it too, letting people know. He's been super excited and proud about wearing his Bears stuff, for real. When I signed to the team, we had some jerseys sent to the house. He kept saying 'Bear Down.' He loves to wear his Bears hat. You say, 'who daddy play for?' He goes, 'the Bears!' So he's loving it and I've definitely been enjoying this transition."

Gervon Dexter Sr.

Gervon Dexter Sr. is far from the only dad on the defensive line, but he is the only father of two. While he welcomed his son, Gervon Jr. or "G2" to the world three years ago, he became a girl dad about six months ago when his daughter, Brooklyn, was born.

"Being a father means a lot," Dexter said. "I think it's what keeps me going. It makes me selfless."

Dexter always knew he wanted to be a father, but when Gervon Jr. was born while the defensive tackle was still playing collegiately at Florida, his priorities had to shift. He not only had to balance school and football, he had to make time for his family — a sacrifice that helped him mature and has become his biggest joy and motivation.

Now being a father to both a son and daughter, Dexter has had to re-learn some parts of fatherhood. He can talk to his son in a different way than his daughter. When Gervon Jr. was a little kid, Dexter would toss him in the air and catch him, but with Brooklyn, he just wants to be gentle and hold her super tight.

However, Gervon and G2 still have their typical father-son fun. Whether it's chasing him around the house, teaching him sports, playing with cars together or reliving old childhood games like cops and robbers, Dexter is grateful for the bond he and his son share.

Whether it's with Gervon Jr. or Brooklyn, Dexter's ultimate goal remains the same — doing all he can to support his family.

"When I came in the NFL, I already had my son, so I just looked at it like the profession that we play in: if you play good, you get rewarded," Dexter said. "So when I had him, I knew I wanted him to live a life that I never got to live when I was younger. Everyone talks about generational wealth. So I wanted to try to build generational wealth. Having my daughter last year just made it even more important. Now you don't have just one, now you've got two kids."

Montez Sweat

This Monday, Montez Sweat's son, Shiloh, will turn three years old, a birthday they celebrated over the weekend with a trip to LegoLand. While to Sweat, it feels like just yesterday that Shiloh was an infant, the birthday trip highlights one of the defensive end's favorite parts of being a dad.

"Right now, it's seeing him grow so fast," Sweat said. "I've seen him sprout up and also make knowledgeable gains from crawling into walking. The best part about being a father is just watching your son grow, and then you kind of put yourself in perspective, like, 'what was I like when I was his age?' You could kind of see it within your children because they have a similar personality to you."

Some of Sweat's favorite moments with Shiloh come when the pair can "just kick it at home" and watch either The Lion King — currently Shiloh's favorite movie — or a YouTube show called Gracie's Corner. As a happy kid with lots of energy, Shiloh also enjoys just running around the house or swimming, making the pool a frequent stop for Sweat and his son in the summer.

With Shiloh being born before Sweat's fourth NFL season, dad has enjoyed his son having the chance to be at his games and see who he to the rest of the world. While Sweat knows Shiloh isn't quite old enough to fully grasp what's going on, he just appreciates his son's presence during home games.

As Sweat prepares for his seventh NFL season, he continues to keep Shiloh on the top of his mind in everything he does.

"It means the world," Sweat said, "It just feels like another type of motivation for you to build a legacy for your family and yourself. It gives you more of a purpose to life that you're not here just taking care of yourself. You actually have a foundation, a legacy to pass down to your offspring. Being a father means the world to me."

Dominique Robinson

Dominique "Dom" Robinson is celebrating his very first Father's Day this year, just nine weeks after the birth of his son, Dominique Jr., also known as "Deej."

"I've always wanted to be a dad," Robinson said. "Me and wifey, we planned to have kids from the jump. My dad was a great father to me, so I just took everything I know from what he used to do and implement it into our lives."

Growing up, Robinson learned discipline and attention to detail from his father. He and his brothers had house and kitchen chores every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Whether it be sweeping, cleaning the counters or doing the dishes, the Robinson brothers had to be on top of the details in order for the task to be complete. That mindset set Dominique up for success later in life.

Robinson is certainly years away from implementing some of those tactics. As a new father, he's more focused on seeing his son quickly develop and even seeing tiny bits of his personality peek through, whether it's his facial expressions or small movements. Having been at Halas Hall for the offseason program over the last several weeks, Robinson said his favorite part of the day is going home and seeing how different his son looks even in the short time he's been away.

While Deej is still coming into his own, Robinson already gets excited about the prospect of playing different games with his son in the years to come, whether it be video games, card games or sports. Things like teaching his son how to shoot a jump shoot or swing a golf club are moments Robinson looks forward to, but for now, he's excited to simply embrace fatherhood.

"You get thrown into a role that you're not really used to, but it means a lot," Robinson said. "You try to do everything for your kid, as much as possible. Whatever you can do, you try to do it. So honestly, it's just taking your time to do what you can do."

Andrew Billings

When it comes to the newest dad of the D-line, Andrew Billings is the winner, becoming a father to his son, Andrew Jr., just three weeks ago.

"It means a lot," Billings said. "It's a challenge. When that baby looks at you, he's challenging you personally to do better. So it's gonna be a long road, a long lesson, but you just take it day-by-day, really.

Having a family has always the plan for Billings, a goal that stemmed from his relationship with his own father. While Billings said most people thought his father was strict growing up, due to his stern face, he describes his dad as "easy-going." Some of their best memories include traveling together for his father's job, taking annual business trips to Washington, D.C. and California.

Taking his son on trips of their own is a tradition Billings is excited to keep alive. Another part of fatherhood he's eager to reach is teaching his son how to cut the grass. Until his son grows old enough for those activities, Billings' focus remains simple: figure out his sleep schedule.

Luckily, Billings has four other dads in the defensive line room he can turn to for assistance. So far, Dexter has been coaching Billings Iup, teaching him theories and tricks on sleep schedules. His biggest advice to Andrew: "Swaddling. Put him in the crib, swaddle, put him in the crib. Let him make his little noises and go to sleep."

Sharing a commonality as personal as fatherhood has strengthened the bond of the Bears defensive line. It allows their group to have a mutual understanding for each other's personal lives and share some of their most fulfilling life experiences together.

"It's good because you're watching other dads go through it, and no matter where we're at, no matter where we go, as a unit, we're always on the same page," Billings said.