It’s the final weekend of the 2020 NFL calendar year, and we’re gaining clarity regarding the 2021 league year’s financial picture.
By 2:59 p.m. CT on Wednesday, each of the league’s 32 teams need to be under the $182.5 million salary cap. Because at 3 p.m. CT, teams can begin trading players currently under contract and signing free agents. And it’s clear the Chicago Bears have plenty of work to do in order to get out of the red.
ESPN’s Field Yates reports the Bears are $25,178,533 *OVER* the 2021 salary cap. Only the Rams ($26,763,852) and Saints ($33,197,344) have bigger cap holes to dig out of before Wednesday’s deadline. So to put it bluntly, the Bears have a ton of work to do to get out of the monetary mess they’re in at this moment.
The good news is that the Bears could make some cuts and restructure contracts in order to get under the cap. We recently dug into some of their options here, and can conclude that it shouldn’t take much to get into the black. And after seeing what the Saints have done to get their number down to $33 million — plus knowing GM Ryan Pace’s history with New Orleans — one could reasonably hope that Pace has notes on how to navigate this situation. But even after that, the real challenge of building a team with whatever cap space is available begins in earnest.
Whatever. We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.
I want to be more worried about this cap situation than I am. But I’m not all that worried, as there are ample avenues to create space to get under the cap number. It will take creativity and a bit of sacrifice. And it could result in the Bears needing to replace some key pieces. However, it’s not a totally lost cause. All in all, I expect to see more moves to create space in the coming days. So buckle up.