Full offseason here with all players and money.
Bears start with roughly $40 million dollars and 30 players under contract. I've left out 13 guys (from Spotrac) with futures contracts who will likely be on the practice squad, bring the cap space up to $40.
Cuts: Goldman ($6.6mil cleared): he hasn't been the same since pre-pandemic and his cap hit, at $11m is just too large. An easy cut IMO
-Cohen ($4m cleared, post-June 1 cut): Cohen had a role in the Nagy offense but has been injured for almost two years and isn't worth the $.
-Attachou ($2.3m cleared): Easy call for #4 DE who is more of an OLB, and with Edwards able to take snaps at DE in this defense.
Total $13m cleared. Bears now have 27 players signed and $53mil in cap space.
Resignings: The new regime is not the old regime, and none of the multiyear contract free agents are resigned. Resign James (1.5) Scales (1.5) Goodwin (1.5), Bush (1.5) Punter (1.5) Ogle (1.5) Burns (1) DHC (1) Bars, Mustipher, Simmons (2.5 total for the three restricted/ERFA players)
Total $12m spent, leaving the Bears with $41mil in cap space and 38 players under contract. Of that $41m, the Bears need to reserve about $5mil for the draft and $5mil for the regular season. That leaves them with $31mil for about 10-12 free agent players from other teams.
Players signed who count against the Bears comp picks:
DJ Chark WR ($35m/3y/$18gtd) 7 against the cap. This is the one real splurge for the Bears. A fast and athletic WR who can stretch the defense, he fits in well with Fields. Chark sees this as an opportunity to draw many targets and a contract that allows him to stay in line for a real payday at a young age if he does well.
Bradley Bozeman C ($32m/4y/$18gtd) 5 against the cap. Obviously the Bears need a center. And as luck would have it this is a great crop of FA centers. Bozeman is a fringe top 10 center in the league and comes at a decent price.
Larry Ogunjobi 3tech ($15m/3y/$8gtd) 3 against the cap. Ogunjobi is one gap player who has had a solid career penetrating and causing havoc in offensive backfields for Cleveland and Cincinnati. He got injured late in the season, and BJ Hill emerged as a very good 3T for Cincinnati. As both are free agents the Bengals stick with Hill and Ogunjobi does at a slight discount because of the injury.
Anthony Walker MIKE ($11m/3y/$6gtd) 2.5 against the cap. To me this one is a no-brainer, he flourished under Eberflus and Williams in Indy and will not break the bank. Three down MIKE and Roq slides in at WILL. A very good duo.
Desmond King S/Nickel ($12m/3y/$6.5gtd) 2.5 against the cap. This guy seems to always get lost in the shuffle. He was severely underdrafted out of Iowa and has never gotten a real contract in the NFL despite versatility and consistent steady play. He slides right in at S with the ability to cover in the slot.
Total Spent: $20mil
Players who don't count against comp picks:
Lucas Patrick G ($5.5m/2y/$3gtd) 2.5 against the cap. Comes with Getsy after plugging in the last two years at G for the Packers. Solid player.
One year deals:
Mike Hughes CB ($2.5). Poles identifies a nice value signing here. Hughes quietly played well for KC in the slot. He looks to Chicago to bolster his value by getting more snaps and maybe getting some reps at outside corner.
Rashard Higgins WR ($1.5). Higgins was a kind of 2/3 WR in Cleveland, with two season at almost 600 yards. He can work some underneath out of the slot.
Zaire Franklin SAM/ST ($1.25). Franklin follows Eberflus from Indy a guy who can play the SAM in 4-3 and will be a core special teams player.
George Odum S ($1.25). Same as above, but as a safety.
Total spent: $9mil. Total spent on FA: $29mil. Bears retain $12mil in cap space heading into the draft. 48 players under contract. *Note that this group of FA signings would yield 4th and 6th round comp picks*
DRAFT
#39: Nick Petit-Frere, (6'5, 315) Ohio State, OT. This player very well may not be available but I hope he is. Petit-Frere is a great athlete who manned the LT spot for OSU in 21 and the RT spot before that. Light on his feet and bendy, he is an ideal pass blocker at this spot and fits into a zone scheme that also incorporates gap principles.
TRADE: Bears trade #71 to Eagles for #83 and #122. The Eagles are flush with picks, including three in the first round. They decide to move up to take a player they felt dropped.
#83: Alonte Taylor (6', 190) Tennessee, CB. Taylor is a bouncy, savvy outside corner who can play both zone and press man, well suited to Eberflus.
#122 Haskell Garrett (6'2 305), OSU, 3Tech. I am not an OSU, it just worked out this way. The Bears have already been linked to Garrett, who is a pure one gap 3Tech player. He can rotate in with Ogunjobi while he builds strength for the future.
#147 Greg Dulcich (6'3.5, 245) UCLA, TE. Dulcich had a nice senior bowl to move up a bit and fits in well as U Tight End, who can stretch the field a bit and play H back a bit.
#149 Charleston Rambo (6'1, 185) Miami, WR. A speed receiver who can stretch the field.
#184 Zaquandre White (6'1 215) South Carolina, RB. A powerful and fast one cut RB who can rotate in this year and be insurance for Monty leaving after 2022.
Offense (24 players)
QB: Fields, Foles
RB: Monty, Herbert, White
TE: Kmet, James, Dulcich, Horsted
WR: Mooney, Chark, Higgins, Goodwin, Newsome, Rambo
OL: Petit-Frere (LT), Whitehair (LG), Bozeman (C), Patrick (RG), Jenkins (RT) Borom, Bars, Mustipher, Simmons
Defense (26 players)
IDL: Blackson (1 tech), Ogunjobi (3T) Edwards, Tonga, Garrett
EDGE: Mack, Quinn, Gipson, [Edwards], (Snowden)
LB: Roq (WILL), Walker (MIKE), Franklin (SAM) Ogletree, Trevethan, Caleb Johnson
CB: JJ, Hughes, Burns/Graham/Taylor Vildor, Shelley
S: EJ, King Bush, Odum, DHC
