Put Up or Shut Up for These Bears

There are plenty of people at Halas Hall with much to prove, as an earlier BearDigest story discussed during Bears June minicamp.

However, there are only a few Bears who are on what can truly be identified as the proverbial "hot seat."

This is for players or coaches and GMs who could be gone without production this season. Bears coaches and GM Ryan Poles are never going to wind up on the hot seat in their first year, unless it degenerates into a total fiasco that includes more than just losing.

Three arrests in an offseason is a good start in that direction but it would take much more.

However, it's a different situation for players. Players wind up in this position due to a lack of production, and it's all the worse if high pay accompanies on-field performance issues.

Here are the Bears sitting directly on the hot seat for 2022. The underlying theme to all is remembering Poles next year will have the cap space to go out and find a replacement without batting an eyelash. Overthecap.com says they'll have $97.68 million available under the cap, most for any team.

Robert Quinn's name would not appear here as he's more likely to be traded at some point before 2023 and not because of poor production but because of his higher value due to last year's production.

5. WR Byron Pringle. The Bears believe in Pringle, and that's as a wide receiver and not a stunt driver. They saw the 43 catches last year in limited playing time and envision him as a legitimate second receiver behind Darnell Mooney.

Pringle aleady was up against it to prove he is every bit a No. 2. When he had the 43 catches last year, it was on a receiver corps with Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce absorbing much of defenders' attention. How is Pingle going to perform now as a No. 2 when it's Darnell Mooney to occupy defenses and it's Justin Fields throwing instead of Patrick Mahomes.

Pringle signed just a one-deal, which further increases pressure on him. His $4.125 million is the eighth-highest payout for a Bears player this year.

There are several players who have one-year deals besides Pringle, and naturally they are all in prove-it mode. But the difference between simply needing to prove yourself and being on the hot seat is best defined by the lack of off-field discipline behind the wheel.

4. CB Kindle Vildor. Money is not the issue here but talent is for a key starting position. Drafting Kyle Gordon seemed to ensure Vildor would be losing his starting spot. But coaches have given Vildor every chance and took a long look at him as the No. 1 left cornerback all through OTAs and minicamps. That's the offseason, however, and it was the unfamiliarity of the staff with Vildor driving this as well as Gordon missing the last few weeks of offseason work with an unspecified injury. Vildor was not good last year, has one year left on his contract after this one and with new coaches and a GM there is no connectivity. They could just as easily use Thomas Graham Jr. or any one of several waiver wire types on the roster as have Vildor available. So he must be convincing or he might not just lose a starting spot, but also could lose a roster spot.

3. DE Mario Edwards Jr. Considering Edwards has the team's seventh-highest cap hit this year, it would be reasonable to assume he is a big-time player and starter. Yet, he's a backup, confined to playing behind Justin Jones as a three technique and coming into the game in some passing situations.

Before Ryan Pace left, he gifted the Bears a contract with Edwards that can have them counting dead cap space for him through 2025. It's not a lot for 2024 and 2025 after the deal expires, but $724,020 for each of two phantom years per Spotrac.com is an aggravation more than a real headache. Edwards was a difference-maker in his first Bears season, 2020. Then he got the three-year, $11.6 million deal and he has had two sacks last year after making four in 2020, had one tackle for loss after making six in 2020, and had fewer QB hits and pressures. Pace paid that contract out to a player who had been with three teams already and had been waived, was suspended two games for a PED violation last year, when he played in only 12 of the 17 games.

The Bears are stressing smart play this year as part of the HITS philosophy coach Matt Eberflus installed, and Edwards last year had two unnecessary roughness penalties, a roughing the passer and unsportsmanlike conduct.

So, yes, it's safe to say he's on the hot seat to perform like in 2020 when they can void his deal after next June 1 and save $3.55 million with only $724,019 dead cap space, according to Overthecap.com.

2. G Cody Whitehair. A dependable producer from 2015-20 at two positions, Whitehair is in the third most expensive slot at $12.3 million this year. So more is expected from him than a season like he had in 2021, when Pro Football Focus said he was only the 46th best guard out of 82 they graded. They could cut or trade Whitehair next year after June 1 for a net cap savings of $5.7 million—$9.9 total million saved and $4.2 million dead cap hit. So a return to form he had in 2020 and in several earlier seasons would be of benefit. And, as everyone knows, the really could use some good play from someone on that offensive line to keep Justin Fields healthy.

1. Eddie Jackson. If Jackson has another interception-free season and has triple digits in passer rating against when targeted, it's safe to speculate that the Bears would not hesitate to realize $9.1 million in net cap savings after June 1 by cutting him in 2023. A trade? Jackson signed a deal giving him the highest average annual payout for a safety in the league, and it's now sixth highest. Yet, he hasn't produce a pick since inking that deal. So it's safe to say no one is trading for that salary and it would be a cap cut situation.

The way to avoid it is the turnaround season, and Jackson has a vehicle at his disposal to achieve it in the form of the cover-2 style zone they're going to use. Safeties can cherry pick more often in this scheme.

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