The Chicago Bears have a lot of work to do in regards to the 2021 offseason. It obviously starts with finding a quarterback. Rumors are they're hot on the trail of landing Carson Wentz from Philadelphia. Nothing is set in stone yet. Other names continue to float around as well. Yet it won't end with just the QB. GM Ryan Pace has other roster problems to tackle. How he approaches them will be determined by the resources available.
This is why all eyes will be on the 2021 salary cap. With the financial windfall of the pandemic hitting the revenue streams hard, expectations were the NFL would be forced to lower the cap for the first time in years. The league and players association entered negotiations and set a floor for how far it would fall at $175 million. It would prevent too much upheaval, but also put a ton of teams in the red. Including the Bears.
Adam Schefter finally shed light on this subject.
It seems the cap will end up being higher than expected. Current projections have it landing somewhere around $180-181 million. That is a good thing. However, it's not as high as some initially hoped. Even with the extra boost, the Bears are still going to be around $8-9 million over the cap. This means some tough financial decisions are coming. Especially if they do end up trading for Wentz or another pricey veteran.That being said, it's not all bad for the Bears. One thing about a lowered cap is it has an impact on certain aspects of the business. Particularly franchise tags. With Allen Robinson set to become a free agent, there was a growing possibility the Bears would have to tag him in order to keep him in place for another season. Initial projections had the tag number between $18-20 million. With the new update, it's expected to drop to $15.8 million.
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Chicago Bears can pull off their goals if they're creative
It will require an adjustment of priorities though. Keeping Robinson is vital regardless of which quarterback the Bears ultimately land. He's their best offensive player. Yet the allocation of resources can't stop there. They also need to beef up the offensive line as well. The problem is they don't have a lot of money to spend. So they need to find a way to get it. This may require some difficult sacrifices. Sacrifices as in veteran players being either cut or traded in order to procure cap space. There are several possibilities that can and will be considered.- Kyle Fuller - $11 million
- Akiem Hicks - $10.5 million
- Charles Leno Jr. - $9 million
- Bobby Massie - $8 million
- Jimmy Graham - $7 million
- Buster Skrine - $4.93 million
- Nick Foles - $4 million
