Bears Expected to Part Ways With $51.2 Million Starter

The Chicago Bears are going to be looking to add more pieces for their rebuild when NFL free agency begins, but there are also a few veterans who are likely to find themselves on the chopping block in March, such as Cody Whitehair.

Whitehair has started 118 games as an interior offensive lineman for the Bears over the past eight seasons, splitting his time between guard and center throughout his tenure. After the Bears benched him from his starting job during the 2023 season, though, his future is far from certain heading into 2024 — and his sizable cap number doesn’t help.

Whitehair is heading into the final year of his contract in 2024 and is set to carry a cap hit of $13.25 million, which is pricey for a veteran who has slipped into a backup role. According to Over the Cap, the Bears would also free up $9.15 million in cap space if they released Whitehair before the start of the new league year on March 13.

With so many things working against Whitehair, many are expecting the Bears will part ways with the veteran offensive lineman — who turns 32 in July — before free agency. Bleacher Report featured him as one of the Bears’ three most likely cap casualties for 2024. Sean Hammond of Shaw Media also dubbed Whitehair a “prime” cut candidate.

“Guard Cody Whitehair is a prime candidate to be cut for salary-cap space,” Hammond wrote in January. “Whitehair, who ended the season as a backup, is set to cost $13 million against the salary cap in 2024. That would make him the second-highest-paid player on the offense behind [DJ] Moore.”