NEWSLETTER
The Chicago Bears front office still has work to do.
Sure, the NFL Draft is coming up. And we are still months away from training camp opening its doors. So I’m not too worried about the state of the roster. But how we’re going to get to that point is of interest to me.
To that end, Pro Football Focus’ Brad Spielberger lays out how much work the Bears have to do to hit a key checkpoint. Because the NFL has a minimum spending threshold for teams to hit to be cap compliant. With Spielberger doing the math, we now have an idea of what Chicago needs to spend to get there:
Okay. So not only are the Bears sitting pretty being $38,454,731 under the salary cap, but they also have spending to do in order to hit a certain checkpoint. About $45 million worth of spending to do. On the one hand, that feels like an awful lot of heavy lifting. But on the other hand, there are a variety of places where the Bears can do work here. Browsing through depth charts online shows this team still has holes to fill. In other words, they have the need to (1) plug holes on the roster, (2) reach a minimum in spending, and (3) have space to maneuver under the cap. All in all, GM Ryan Poles has ample motivation to still be active in the market. To that, I say: Goooooood.
There are quality free agents to be had right now who could be Bears fits. Addressing offensive line needs appears to be on their to-do list right now. But they could wait out the cap casualty market that Spielberger alludes to that will be coming in due time. Patience is important here. Because in the coming weeks, teams will begin shedding salaries. It’ll come in the form of players who are due roster bonuses front offices don’t want to pay. In many cases, the cuts will come for veterans at a time where they can get a chance to latch on with a team before the draft rolls around. So we should keep an eye out for that, too.
Let it be known that reaching the spending floor doesn’t have to come from just free-agent signings. Extensions (lookin’ at you Cole Kmet, Darnell Mooney, and Jaylon Johnson) are one way to climb that ladder. Draft pick signings count toward this, too. Plus, there isn’t a hard deadline or drop-dead date for this to happen. But they’ll need to be compliant before the 2024 league year begins. We’ve got a while until we get to that bridge, let alone get an opportunity to cross it. Even still … it would be nice to see Poles and this front office take a progressive approach toward tying up loose ends.
Spielberger expands on this (and more) in his appearance on the latest episode of the Hoge and Jahns podcast. Any time Brad goes on the Hoge & Jahns podcast is a treat. So make sure to listen to it in full here:
