NEWSLETTER
The trade deadline has come and gone, but that doesn’t mean front offices will stop turning over every stone in search of an upgrade. But there’s a catch: some teams have more financial wiggle room under the salary cap than others.
And even though we can’t quite nail down the number exactly, the general consensus suggests that the Bears are really up against it. Here’s how much cap space the Bears are estimated to have remaining from three different sources:
So no matter which way you slice it, the Bears seem to have an ounce of spending freedom should they want to add another player. Why do I bring this up? Well …
The Bears’ salary cap situation is worth looking at now, because the team could still find itself in the market to add another piece. For example, ex-Raiders pass-rusher Bruce Irvin officially became a free agent yesterday after being waived by Oakland late last week. Wouldn’t it be something to bolster Chicago’s edge defenders by pairing Khalil Mack with a familiar face? He has since signed with the Falcons, but the point remains: people become available.
Chicago could also decide to add another offensive lineman to the mix, but that would depend largely on how things go with the team’s active players and the progress Kyle Long makes.
The Bears don’t have a ton of “obvious” needs at this point, so it doesn’t necessarily matter that they don’t have a ton of cash to spend. But knowing there’s at least some room to maneuver opens the doors of possibility – and you always want to maintain that flexibility, in case something unexpected should pop up.
