NEWSLETTER
NFL free agency opens its doors when the new league year begins in 23 days, and you can expect the Chicago Bears to be active in that market.
Things already look good for the Bears, who entered this offseason with the ninth-most projected space under the 2024 salary cap. That number has grown after the team parted ways with offensive lineman Cody Whitehair and safety Eddie Jackson. Looking ahead, that number could grow even more — and without further cuts.
Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio shares what he hears about the NFL’s 2024 salary cap in his latest post. The buzz Florio is hearing is that the cap number will be set in the $242 million and $243 million range. One source told Florio that the number could be even higher. The number figures to be finalized during the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis next week. But until that number becomes officially official, this estimate puts us in a good place to discuss how it could impact the Bears’ future.
This cap update is good news in terms of the league’s fiscal health. It is a small matter, but not inconsequential to see that December projections forecasting a 2024 cap number north of $240 million were right on the nose. Even if it is just $242 million, that would represent a substantial increase over the 2023 salary cap number of $224.8 million. I’ve only once been an “A” student in math, but I’d consider a $17.8 million hike to be a substantial increase.
But more important than that, the cap update is good news for teams that want (and have the ability) to spend money. Teams like the Bears. As of today, the Bears sit at $66,996,157 under a projected $242 million salary cap. Only the Tennessee Titans ($67.77 million) and Washington Commanders ($73.649 million) have more wiggle room under the cap. And there is no shortage of ways the Bears can leverage their healthy cap situation.
The Chicago Bears salary cap situation is in good health
Chicago could address needs on the offensive side of the ball by targeting a wide receiver. How good would Mike Evans look lining up opposite D.J. Moore in an offensive formation? It is something we discussed earlier in the offseason. What about Calvin Ridley at a lower price tag? That might be a more feasible route. The Bears could plug some holes on the defensive side. Minnesota Vikings free agent defensive end Danielle Hunter is reportedly on their radar. And I suppose we could circle back to the idea of discussing Kansas City Chiefs game-wrecking free agent defensive tackle Chris Jones as a possibility. There was some rumored interest back in August.
And to think, those are just the Plan A guys. Bears General Manager Ryan Poles did well in reeling in secondary-tier free agents such as linebacker T.J. Edwards. I imagine this team could do well in that area once again. So let’s keep that in mind as we start making our offseason wish lists.
Give Poles credit for this: His arrival has helped bring some stability to the team’s cap situation. I’ll tip my cap to former GM Ryan Pace for trying to maneuver in a way that put his team in a position to compete despite limited cap flexibility. But by the end of Pace’s tenure, the Bears’ cap situation was so much of an anchor that it nudged Poles to a hard reset when he took over in 2022. To be clear, competing while operating with a ton of dead cap money is impossible. We just watched the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Green Bay Packers make the playoffs during seasons in which their cap situations were a complete nightmare.
Urban wordsmith Jay-Z once said “difficult takes a day, impossible takes a week” and it still sticks with me. But I digress, if only because cap health gets priority over fire bars.
Cleaning up the cap mess Ryan Pace left behind felt like it would be a forever process when Ryan Poles stepped into the role. But as Poles enters his third offseason with the team, things are in a good place. Now seems like a good time to leverage that healthy cap and use it to build a team that will “take the North” and not give it back.
