Chicago Bears Salary Cap Faces a Possible Crisis in 2020

The Chicago Bears salary cap appears in good shape for this year. They have over $17.6 million with no major signings likely for the rest of the offseason. At this point, the only things that could affect it are possible extensions for certain players coming out of contract like Cody Whitehair. Other than that, the team has loads of flexibility.

Such will not be the case in 2020. According to Overthecap.com, the Bears are currently projected to be $4.2 million in the red next offseason. That means over the cap, which can lead to severe penalties if not addressed. Three players will be garnering a cap hit of $59.1 million by themselves in Khalil Mack, Kyle Fuller, and Allen Robinson.

Not to mention Leonard Floyd's 5th-year option delivering an over $13 million hit itself. This is less than ideal because further contract extensions will be on the Bears' minds by that point. All-Pros Eddie Jackson and Tarik Cohen will be in the last years of their rookie contracts and GM Ryan Pace may begin thinking about extension talks for Mitch Trubisky as well.

Chicago Bears salary cap may require sacrifices next year

The good news is the immediate danger next year will be solved by Pace's careful financial spending this year. Presuming the Bears maintain their current cap number at $17 million the rest of the season, that will be rolled over on their cap in 2020. If the league cap rises to around $200 million as predicted, that would put them at around $13.4 million in space.

Not ideal but certainly a step away from the crisis zone. Even so, further space will be needed if they're going to accommodate the extensions mentioned above along with the 2020 free agent and draft class contracts they're likely to take on as well. Pace will have some decisions to make that involve two possibilities.

Either he cuts some of the larger contracts on the payroll or he extends certain players to help lower their 2020 cap hit. That first idea is something they'll be able to entertain to a substantial extent if desired.

Prince Amukamara, Kyle Long, and Allen Robinson will be the focus

While other players could easily get involved, there is no doubt the three focal points of 2020 will be cornerback Prince Amukamara, right guard Kyle Long, and wide receiver Allen Robinson. In the case of the first two, they both are into their 30s and will have contracts that command over $9 million each in cap space.

If the Bears were to release both of them, they would get an instant $16.1 million cap relief. That would likely be more than enough to take care of their concerns. Naturally, it would cost them two of their more reliable players, but these are the sort of tough decisions they'll be facing as the cap becomes tighter due to the Trubisky contract.

As for Robinson, he'll be in the final season of his three-year contract he signed back in 2018. The Bears will have a decision to make. Do they decide to extend him? That depends on how he performs this year. If he excels, they'll no doubt want to ensure he stays longer. An extension would allow Pace to structure his contract for a lower 2020 cap hit.