The Chicago Bears have a lot of big decisions ahead of them in 2020 in regards to their payroll. Not only do they have 22 pending free agents next spring. They also have a number of contract extensions they need to consider including Allen Robinson and Eddie Jackson. To do that, they ‘ll need money and as things stand they won’t have a lot of it to spare. So they’ll need a couple of fortunate breaks to gain some wiggle room.
Luckily the ongoing success of the NFL at large could come to their rescue. According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, expectations are that the salary cap for the 2020 league year is expected to rise yet again with some estimates having it top out at just over $201 million. Together with a sizable rollover of their 2019 cap space, the Bears could reach a solid starting point of between $13-14 million in space. Not bad given some of the big contracts they have on the books already.
“The NFL informed clubs Tuesday that projections for the 2020 salary cap are in the range of $196.8 million to $201.2 million, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
This marks a 40% increase from five years ago in the 2015 season ($143.3 million) and is anticipated to be the seventh consecutive year the cap is projected to climb more than $10 million per club year over year.”
Chicago Bears won’t need as much maneuvering to gain space
If those projections hold true, the Bears will be in a favorable position to accomplish their offseason objectives without having to make too many big moves for the sake of creating cap space. For example, they could simply cut Kyle Long and Prince Amukamara, two aging veterans who have declined this year, for a total of $16.1 million in extra breathing room. This would push the team up to around $29-30 million available for spending. That would be plenty for GM Ryan Pace to conduct necessary business.
Maybe not enough to go on a minor spending spree in free agency but something to work with for sure. The Bears know 2020 could be the last year they’re in a position to be aggressive on the free agency front give Mitch Trubisky’s rookie contract. After that, the cost for his services, presuming he’s still around, will jump above the $20 million per year range. If they still think the Super Bowl window is open, and there’s reason to think it is, then they’ll want to be proactive.
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