Few teams are better at keeping their intentions close to the vest quite like the Chicago Bears. GM Ryan Pace has run a tight ship ever since he took over in 2015. Rumors rarely get out on anything the organization is planning in regards to offseason objective in either free agency or the draft. That said, occasional blips do slip through from time to time. They are never specific, but they do offer an idea of what might be coming.
This was the case when I asked Tony Pauline of Pro Football Network for any updates on the Bears’ plans. Pauline has done tremendous work this offseason with some inside information on team maneuvers. Most recently he was on top of the Las Vegas Raiders’ heavy interest in pursuing Tom Brady once free agency began. So it was interesting to see his response in regards to Chicago.
“I have not heard any specific names to date, but people tell me they expect the Bears to make a good number of roster cuts before free agency and then sign guys in free agency to fill those holes.”
Chicago Bears might have a shakeup planned
Now obviously it’s important not to get carried away here. That being said, it seems like the Bears could be planning to unload as many expensive contracts as possible to clear out cap space, allowing them to be more aggressive in free agency. Not entirely a surprise since they have no 1st or 3rd round picks in the upcoming NFL draft. So what players could they be looking at unloading? Here is a list of contracts that stand out.
- Leonard Floyd – $13.222 million
- Prince Amukamara – $9 million
- Cordarrelle Patterson – $5.25 million
- Taylor Gabriel – $4.5 million
- Charles Leno Jr. – $2.9 million
- Tarik Cohen – $2.144 million
- Pat O’Donnell – $1.75 million
- Ben Braunecker – $1.5 million
- Adam Shaheen – $1.27 million
- Trey Burton – $1.05 million
First, let’s weed out the unlikely names.
Patterson was an All-Pro on special teams in 2019. So his exit wouldn’t serve the team much good. Leno Jr. struggled a lot with penalties at left tackle but he was still a decent blocker. He’d also leave behind a $7.4 million lump of dead money. He is safe. Most would love to see Burton gone but cutting him would saddle the Bears would $7.5 million in dead cap. Last is Floyd. While plenty of people are tired of his inability to help the pass rush, it’s fairly clear the team views him as filling an important role in their defense. They might try to find a workaround to his cap hit.
Subscribe to the BFR podcast and ride shotgun with Dave and Ficky as they break down Bears football like nobody else.
That leaves six names remaining. Were the Bears to cut them all, they would secure an additional $20.164 million in space. That would likely give the team around $34-35 million total to work with when free agency begins. Probably less given some of the in-house moves they’ll have to make. If one were to take a calculated guess, the names in the most danger at this point are Amukamara, Gabriel, Braunecker, and Shaheen.
O’Donnell had a good year punting. Cohen is still a dangerous weapon despite a down season. Anything is possible though.
