Here’s What the Bears’ Salary Cap Situation Looks Like After Monday’s Shopping Spree (UPDATE)
After taking on D.J. Moore’s contract after Friday’s big trade, the Chicago Bears gave out $121.5 million in new contracts to T.J. Edwards, Nate Davis, and Tremaine Edmunds on the first day of free agency. You’d think that aggressive spending would mean the end is near for the Bears. To that, I’d say: Ha! Hardly.
The Bears still have a boatload of salary cap space left. Here is an updated look at what Chicago is working with via OverTheCap.com (UPDATE):
- The Bears are $44,911,577 under the salary cap, which OTC calculates as the final number that takes the team salary cap and subtracts active cap spending and dead money.
- Chicago also has $39,583,790 in “effective cap space.” This cap space number is defined as “the cap space a team will have after signing at least 51 players and its projected rookie class to its roster.”
In other words, the Bears still have a bunch of cap space to work with. In fact, even after shelling out a bunch of cash on Monday, GM Ryan Poles still has the most cap space to work within the NFL. So no matter how you slice it, the Bears are still operating in a position of strength. Poles can still flex his cap muscle for offensive line help, cornerback, defensive linemen, and other positions of need. There is still so much to do, but at least the Bears still have so much to work with as they chug along.
One of the joys of the Bears having so much space under the cap has been watching them spend it. Mainly because they had to — not just in order to rebuild the team but also to reach the salary floor. However, part of the joy comes in knowing that Chicago’s football team — still known in some circles as being notoriously frugal — could kill off some old, tired narratives by going on a spending spree. Now that we’re shaking the notion that the Bears don’t spend let’s take the next step. How about spending it in wise, effective, and impactful ways? Hey, it would be a start!
