The Chicago Bears did tons of work this past season getting their salary structure under control. Several veteran players with big contracts were traded, released, or allowed to leave in free agency. GM Ryan Poles made his intentions clear. He wanted to wipe the slate clean, clear up cap space, and start over. It required absorbing a ton of dead money, but the long-term benefits would be worth it. Now the Bears are ready to reap the rewards as the NFL released details on the coming 2023 off-season.
According to multiple insiders, the newly projected salary cap will be $224.8 million, a significant jump from the $208.2 million it reached for 2022. Estimates put the Bears at a hefty $98 million in cap space, far beyond any other team in the NFL. The next closest is the Atlanta Falcons, with $56 million. What is crazy is Poles has plenty of moves he can make to create more. Cutting Cody Whitehair and Al-Quadin Muhammad would free up over $9 million. He doesn't have to do that, but the Bears GM can if he wants. Having such flexibility is nice.
Yet the best part of this development is what it means for other teams.
Chicago Bears might see some notable names get cut elsewhere.
Never underestimate the possibility of prominent players getting the ax because their teams can't afford them anymore. Spotrac estimates that 15 organizations will be over the salary cap this off-season. Six of them will exceed the $20 million mark. That means they'll have to do some serious heavy lifting to get back under the cap. Don't forget several of them have pending free agents they probably want to keep. This creates the perfect scenario for some unexpected cap casualties.
- Buffalo Bills - $20.5 million over
- Minnesota Vikings - $21 million over
- Tennessee Titans - $23.68 million over
- Jacksonville Jaguars - $32.27 million over
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers - $55.7 million over
- New Orleans Saints - $57.38 million over
Don't be shocked if names like Tre'Davious White, Taylor Lewan, Shaquill Griffin, Mike Evans, and Andrus Peat, among others, become available. Any one of them would likely be an instant help to the Chicago Bears in their efforts to build a more competitive roster. There are several ways this could go, and Poles is in the perfect position to take advantage.
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