Chicago Bears in Exclusive and Concerning Cap Space Club Ahead of 2026 NFL Draft

It's no secret that the Chicago Bears have a rough situation when it comes to their remaining salary cap space.

Chicago entered the offseason with a less-than ideal situation and that no doubt hampered their ability to do much in free agency.

With the 2026 NFL Draft coming up, the Bears have to find ways to open up more cap space, not only to make more moves in free agency to address existing needs, but to be able to afford their draft class, also.

Bears in exclusive cap space club

Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles speaks at the NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center. — Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Ari Meirov of The 33rd Team shared the cap space numbers for every team in the NFL on Sunday and the Bears stand alone among the rest of the league.

Not only do the Bears have the least wiggle room with roughly $245,000 in cap space, they are the only team in the NFL that comes in under $1 million in cap space.

Salary cap space for all 32 NFL teams (roughly):

1. Titans: $63M
2. Commanders: $50M
3. Chargers: $48M
4. Cardinals: $41M
5. Jets: $40M
6. Patriots: $35M
7. Eagles: $34.8M
8. Seahawks: $33M
9. 49ers: $30M
10. Ravens: $29.5M
11. Steelers: $27M
12. Colts: $26.5M
13. Rams: $26M
14.… pic.twitter.com/tEiyYT4XCC
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) April 5, 2026

The next closest team to the Bears is the Miami Dolphins, who are in a rough spot with about $2 million to work with because of the Tua Tagovailoa situation that has Miami carrying a boatload of dead money on its books.

The Carolina Panthers are just ahead of the Dolphins with $2.2 million in funds. The Panthers made one of the most expensive moves of free agency with the signing of Jaelan Phillips.

While the Bears have been limited, they have made some significant moves in free agency.

The additions of linebacker Devin Bush and safety Coby Bryant saw Chicago dish out a three-year, $30 million deal and a three-year, $40 million deal, respectively.

Both of those players will fill significant voids after the team cut linebacker Tremaine Edmunds and saw both Kevin Byard and Jaquan Brisker leave in free agency.

But the Bears have not addressed all of their needs.

What's left for the Bears to do?

Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson during the 2026 NFL Annual League Meeting at the Arizona Biltmore. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Chicago still needs to add a run-stuffing interior defensive lineman, an edge rusher and another safety.

It also wouldn't hurt to add more depth at cornerback, wide receiver, linebacker and along the offensive line.

There's a few issues with the Bears simply waiting for the draft to address their needs.

For starters, there's zero guarantee the Bears will actually be able to land players at their biggest positions of need because there's simply no telling how the draft will shake out, especially late in Round 1, where the Bears have the No. 25 pick.

Furthermore, there's no guarantee that, even if the Bears do land players at most or all of those positions, those same players will make the immediate impact Chicago needs.

Then, you also have the approach of general manager Ryan Poles, who intends on sticking to his guns when it comes to going with best player available over reaching for a positional need.

Knowing all that, the Bears have to remain active in free agency, and that is something we'd expect them to do after the draft, assuming Poles can create the flexibility to do so.