Chicago Bears: Possible cuts to make that will free up salary cap space
While the Chicago Bears are forecasted to have a healthy salary cap space this offseason, cuts could free up more. Here are five candidates.
This offseason will be an impactful one for the Chicago Bears. After overhauling the roster last offseason, the Bears went from three wins to seven. Now they have an opportunity to add more talent and put together a team that can win more games than it loses. That has happened just one time in the past ten seasons.
For the second consecutive year, the Bears have the number one pick in the NFL Draft. Last year, general manager Ryan Poles brought in a haul and it helped improve the roster.
However, what also helped was having $110 million in salary cap space. Poles was able to bring in some key players who had good seasons. Having that salary cap space allowed Poles to make the trade of the pick and acquire wide receiver DJ Moore. He had a $20.165 million cap hit. With the space available, fitting that contract was no problem.
Despite already having a good amount of salary cap space, the Chicago Bears can still make some cuts to free up even more
The Bears currently have about $46.9 million in salary cap space. That is based on a salary cap of $242 million set for each team. That number is not official but it is expected to be the minimum. It may be higher. The Bears’ total ranks ninth in the league.
That is a good number and ranks eighth among the teams. However, there could be some cuts made to free up even more space. These are players who might not be in the future plans. They might be struggling players with salaries that could provide a nice chunk of money to help improve the roster.
Here is a list of players the Chicago Bears could cut to increase the salary cap in 2024.
Travis Homer, Running Back
Travis Homer was brought in to assist in the running game and on special teams. He did not do much on either side. He received no rushing attempts in the season and played solely on special teams.
There are plenty of other running backs who can provide some help. Also, finding help on special teams is readily available. If the Bears cut him, they could save about $1.885 million.
This offseason will be an impactful one for the Chicago Bears. After overhauling the roster last offseason, the Bears went from three wins to seven. Now they have an opportunity to add more talent and put together a team that can win more games than it loses. That has happened just one time in the past ten seasons.
For the second consecutive year, the Bears have the number one pick in the NFL Draft. Last year, general manager Ryan Poles brought in a haul and it helped improve the roster.
However, what also helped was having $110 million in salary cap space. Poles was able to bring in some key players who had good seasons. Having that salary cap space allowed Poles to make the trade of the pick and acquire wide receiver DJ Moore. He had a $20.165 million cap hit. With the space available, fitting that contract was no problem.
Despite already having a good amount of salary cap space, the Chicago Bears can still make some cuts to free up even more
The Bears currently have about $46.9 million in salary cap space. That is based on a salary cap of $242 million set for each team. That number is not official but it is expected to be the minimum. It may be higher. The Bears’ total ranks ninth in the league.
That is a good number and ranks eighth among the teams. However, there could be some cuts made to free up even more space. These are players who might not be in the future plans. They might be struggling players with salaries that could provide a nice chunk of money to help improve the roster.
Here is a list of players the Chicago Bears could cut to increase the salary cap in 2024.
Travis Homer, Running Back
Travis Homer was brought in to assist in the running game and on special teams. He did not do much on either side. He received no rushing attempts in the season and played solely on special teams.
There are plenty of other running backs who can provide some help. Also, finding help on special teams is readily available. If the Bears cut him, they could save about $1.885 million.
The Chicago Bears have entered one of the most important and impactful offseason in their history. After decades of consistent losing, hey have an opportunity to start a new era of winning football.
Last year was an impactful offseason. After tearing down the roster in his first year as general manager in 2022, Ryan Poles had $110 million in salary cap space and the #1 pick in the draft. He used those assets to sign and draft several key players. The Bears went from a 3-14 team that lost their final 10 games to a 7-10 team that was competitive. Erase the historic three-game collapses and they would have been in the playoffs.
Now, however, Poles can make some moves that solidify the roster even more and get the win total to an even more significant number. He can bring in even more talent to strengthen the team.
Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles has decisions to make on potential free agents from within before deciding on which new faces to bring in
Before Poles decides on which new players he brings on board, he has to decide where it is he needs help. There are some obvious holes like an added pass rusher and an interior offensive lineman. However, there are some players who were on the roster in 2023 who become free agents. Poles needs to decide which of them should return and which should be allowed to leave. Once he does that, he will have a better idea of how to round out the roster.
Some of Poles’ decisions could be influenced other moves he made. For example, the Bears just hired a new offensive coordinator. Shane Waldron will run things differently than Luke Getsy did. That might require different personnel. On the other hand, it may require some of those players to stay.
Here is a list of potential free agent Chicago Bears players who should stay and some who should go.
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