Ryan Pace Takes a Major Step Towards Possible Free Agent Splash

The Chicago Bears disappointed a lot of the more ravenous fans with a quiet day one of the legal tampering period in free agency. They signed running back Mike Davis and slot corner Buster Skrine to rather modest deals and retained tight end Ben Braunecker. Where was the big splash that GM Ryan Pace seemed to hint might be coming? Well as it turns out people need to have a little more patience. According to Field Yates of ESPN, the Bears positioned themselves for some sort of big move by converting $13 million of Khalil Mack's contract into a signing bonus. This enables them to gain an addition $11 million in salary cap space. That puts them somewhere in the vicinity of $25 million total, more than enough to make a bold stroke for somebody.

Of course the inevitable question is who could it be? If one were to connect the dots, it's possible they feel confident they might be able to land running back Le'Veon Bell. This is due to a situation developing with the New York Jets. They've been the frontrunners for his services since the market opened on Monday. However, two massive deals they handed to linebackers Anthony Barr and C.J. Mosley have eaten a massive chunk out of their salary cap. This may have created an opening for the Bears to press an offer of their own since rumors persist they are interested. If so, it would certainly be the splash move people were banking on. Bell isn't the only name out there to watch though. Time will tell on what Pace exactly has planned for his new spending money.