Free agency begins on the 18th of March with the legal tampering window opening the 16th at 12:00 EST. The Chicago Bears have fans where they typically want them. Totally guessing at what their plans might be. Nobody knows what GM Ryan Pace wants to do. Will he sit back and sift the bargain bin like last year or will he make a calculated splash for a player he covets? If it's the latter, one can reasonably bet it will be a quarterback.
Should this be the case, there is one problem. Money. The Bears don't really have a lot of it to spend. They came into this week with around $24 million available and that has since dropped further with new deals for Danny Trevathan and Roy Robertson-Harris. Depending on contract structure, that number could be as low as $10 million now.
Quarterbacks are expensive and that isn't nearly enough. They still could cut or trade Leonard Floyd in the next 24 hours. This would free up $13.222 million in additional space. Yet even that might not be enough. The Bears need breathing room. So are there any other ways they can get it?
Here are a few that might make sense.
Ways the Chicago Bears can massage their cap
Contract extension for Allen Robinson
This is the scenario that is the most desirable. Robinson is in the last year of his current deal. He's coming off a 1,100-yard season and was easily the best player on the Bears offense. He is going to get a pay raise. Word is the team wants to give him one but thus far talks have been "minimal" according to the receiver. That could be true or just him being coy at the request of the team. If the Bears were able to get a deal done, they could backload the deal to where his salary cap hit would be lower than the $13 million it currently is. Perhaps $3-4 million less. A win-win for both sides.
Cut Charles Leno Jr. with post-June 1st designation
The new CBA being ratified open up a door that was closed for the Bears. This is the post-June 1st cut designation, which would allow them to spread a dead cap hit through two years instead of one. In the case of left tackle Charles Leno, they would gain $8 million in space instead of just $2.9 million from cutting him outright. Leno is coming off a major regression last season, committing 12 penalties and allowing seven sacks. This offseason appears rich in tackles, especially the draft. They might be able to get away with this move.
Trade Cordarrelle Patterson
It seems illogical for the Bears to trade a guy who is coming off an All-Pro season. However, this is a case of supply and demand. Buy low and sell high. Patterson is the best kick returner in the NFL who just had arguably his best overall season. He's also a dangerous utility weapon on offense. His value will never be higher. Trading him would net both a draft pick and $4.75 million in spending money. While his special teams prowess would be missed, they have bigger issues to tackle.
Contract extension for Akiem Hicks
This is one possibility people aren't talking about. Hicks is currently under contract for two more seasons through 2021. His cap hit for this year is $11.8 million. The Bears could look to give him an extension, perhaps adding on another two years. This would allow them to rearrange his guaranteed money, lowering that hit similar to what they could do with Robinson. Despite his injury setback last season, Hicks remains the fixture in that Bears defensive front and a core member of the locker room.
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