Bear Digest

Analyzing Every Potential Chicago Bears Cap Casualty This Offseason

The Bears could look seriously at cutting a player or two for salary cap purposes if they can't restructure enough contracts for more cap space, and here are the most likely victims.
Gene Chamberlain|
Bears running back D'Andre Swift (4) and wide receiver DJ Moore celebrate after a touchdown against Cleveland.
Bears running back D'Andre Swift (4) and wide receiver DJ Moore celebrate after a touchdown against Cleveland. | David Banks-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

As the Bears approach March's deadline for getting under the NFL salary cap, they're in an unaccustomed situation.

They'll need to try to gain back cap space by either restructuring veteran contracts or cutting players outright.

Since Ryan Poles took over as GM in 2022, the cap situation improved significantly while they lost dead cap amounts and paid out salary to more effective drafted players and free agents. Salary can later be converted to bonus in restructuring, and allows them to push cap deductions to future caps while gaining back more cap space.

When you cut a player for cap purposes, there needs to be a few prerequisites met: He isn't a player absolutely vital to a team's success, and there actually must be some tangible economic value to dropping him off the payroll.

They've done both in the past to some extent, but only in very limited numbers.

You don't simply cut a player who is producing well to save a few bucks when there are other methods for complying with the cap available, like restructuring veteran contracts.

There are names to be cut constantly thrown out in social media by people who don't understand how it works or because it's easy for them to do because it's not their pay or their payment to make.

In reality, the Bears can bring back a great deal of money by restructuring contracts this year. They have only a few players who even border on being potential cap victims.

Players like DJ Moore and Montez Sweat count a lot against the cap but their contracts currently don't allow for them to be cut unless the Bears want to lose available cap space in the form of dead cap. Trading them is totally different, but cutting them for cap space would be the exact opposite of what they need to do.

In Sweat's case, they'd be cutting their best pass rusher, while Moore is their best receiver, or at least he has been.

Those are two players with contracts offering great restructure value for the team to get back cap space. however.

The same is true with cornerback Jaylon Johnson. They would save $15.5 million in cap space by cutting him post-June 1, but the dead cap hit of $9 million costs them cap space they could otherwise use.

Some players who didn't contribute as much as their pay level dictated are protected by the cap situation. For instance, Dayo Odeyingbo was injured and struggled beforehand, but they lose $17 million to dead cap space if they cut him after June 1 and more prior to June 1. They also lose $17 million to dead cap space by cutting Grady Jarrett after June 1.

How dead cap works is the $321 million in projected salary cap space they have per Spotrac.com suddenly becomes $287 million if they cut those two players at a dead cap cost of $34 million each. They might get under the cap with their restructurings, but then they would still have a lot less available to sign needed players. How do you pay for free agent safeties then?

A team already underwater and without a single safety under contract isn't about to convert its cap space available into dead space that can't be used for paying players.

Here are the most likely Bears cap cut victims, but in each case there is also merit in finding ways to keep them on the roster. The first few aren't even worth considering.

7. RB Roschon Johnson

A pointless move, really. He saves $1.145 million but taking into account dead cap created it would save less than a million. Rookies almost get that amount now. They'd be better off keeping him at camp and seeing if he can contribute without being hurt.

6. K Cairo Santos

They're not cutting the most dependable kicker in franchise history. He's not overpaid, with a $3.75 million cap hit this year. However, if you're going to get technical and look for a penny here or there under the cap, yes, Santos saves some money if he's gone. They would get $3.2 million in cap savings and would only suffer a dead cap hit to their available space of $560,000 if the move came with a post-June 1 designation. The overall savings would be much less if done earlier than June 1. Good luck with finding another kicker then. Haven't we all been through that enough?

5. QB Tyson Bagent

They just signed him to a contract extension before last season and Ben Johnson wouldn't have wanted the signing at that position if they were planning to simply cut him. They would save $3.75 million but would lose $1 million to dead cap. The savings is a little greater after June 1, with $4.25 million saved and $500,000 toward dead cap. There's no way he's going to be a cap cut after the emotional scene on his part and from the Bears' end after they signed him to an extension.

4. CB Tyrique Stevenson

This would make no sense because the amount saved would be small but also because he is still on his rookie contract and played effectively for most of last season when he was on the field. Usually, a player still on their rookie deal like he is, and playing well enough, would be traded and not cut. Stevenson's departure before or after June 1 saves them $3.6 million while they would lose $422,637 to dead cap. That $3.6 million is chump change.

3. RB D'Andre Swift

In each of the other three cases, the move saves so little money it hardly seems worthwhile. This one would save money but first they better be sure they have someone who replaces him and fits what they need. In free agency, that's not always possible. Swift being cut means saving $7.47 million but they're losing back $1.33 million to dead cap before or after June 1. For about a $6 million net move, they must be sure they have someone to replace their rushing leader, who also contributes as a receiver.

2. TE Cole Kmet

This is totally realistic for a few reasons. First is the money. They'd save $10 million while losing just $1.6 million to dead cap after June 1. The move without a post-June 1 designation is much less effective cap-wise at $8.4 million saved, with $3.2 million in dead cap. The other reason this one looks more possible because his position is one where Johnson seems to have a good eye for talent. It was a position he coached in the past. The main reasons this looks unlikely is it wouldn't be popular to cut a veteran from the area who also produces and has been instrumental in their rise, but mainly because his contract has $8.9 million in salary available for this year. They could simply convert it to bonus money, prorate the cost against future caps as part of the restructuring plan and then retain him for another season.

1. LB Tremaine Edmunds

This is the only move that seems likely, and even here there is probably more value in just restructuring instead of cutting him. He is coming off his best Bears season per Pro Football Focus grading, and made four interceptions. However, with $15 million in cap savings possible regardless of when he's cut, and only $2.4 million in a dead cap hit, the Bears would have to weigh how much of a necessity he is for the future. They might think they have other possible weakside linebackers. D'Marco Jackson is a free agent, though. It's not easy to find a linebacker with Edmunds' speed and athleticism, but replacing him with an adequate linebacker for a fraction of the price is not difficult.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.