The Chicago Bears Actually Have a Lot *LESS* Cap Space Than Initially Projected

We’ve made it to the last Friday in January! I didn’t think we could make it. The combination of short days, long nights, gray days that lack sunlight, the post-holiday come down, and general life malaise has done a number on yours truly. But the NFL’s offseason and the promise of a better tomorrow continues to push me forward.

With that in mind, I wanted to deliver an update on where the Bears stand at this point in the offseason. And while digging into it, I noticed that OverTheCap.com came through with an update to their 2023 Bears projected salary cap. But before we get to it, let be warned: The Bears are expected to have much *LESS* cap space than previously forecasted ($110-$120M!). They still have the *MOST* cap space in the league. By far. They just won’t wind up in triple digits, as we expected.

OverTheCap.com’s most recent estimates have the Bears at $92,033,199 under the projected salary cap for 2023.

That sentence deserves isolation to really drive home how much wiggle room the Bears still have under the cap. OTC’s Jason Fitzgerald explains the changes in the projections and what went into them. I’d encourage you to give it a read if you’d like some more background on what went into the tweaks. And if you insist on getting the Bears up to (and past!) $100 million under the cap, playing with OTC’s team-specific calculator tool is a fun way to pass the time.

For what it’s worth, this cap update shouldn’t change Chicago’s offseason plans. The Bears still need to address both sides of the trenches. They still need help in upgrading the pass catchers, too. I suppose that they could seek extensions with players entering Year 4 of their rookie deals (Cole Kmet, Darnell Mooney). Or they could use some of that space on bringing back a familiar face (David Montgomery) before free agency begins. In the end, $92 million is still a large chunk of change. Spend it wisely. Please.