The Chicago Bears free agent plan appears to have been executed. Most of their objectives were met. In the event of losing Bryce Callahan and Adrian Amos to the market, they found adequate replacements in Buster Skrine and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix. Cordarelle Patterson boosts their kick return game. Mike Davis adds more flexibility to the run game.
Aaron Lynch was also re-signed to keep the depth at edge rusher intact. Bobby Massie and Pat O'Donnell received extensions. All things considered they appear to be in good shape going into the draft. Does this mean their notable spending on the market is complete though?
One would think so. Assumptions are GM Ryan Pace will retain the remaining cap space to start working on potential contract extensions for players already on the roster. Cody Whitehair and Leonard Floyd likely topping the list. However, recent financial updates would indicate they might be a bit more aggressive than we think.
Chicago Bears free agent plans could get extended by cheap draft class
Believe it or not, there is a silver lining to not having 1st or 2nd round picks in a draft. That comes from the money aspect. Not having to make those players the required money has resulted in the Bears having what will likely be the cheapest 2019 draft class of any team in the league.
According to Jason Fitzgerald of Over The Cap, the Bears 2019 rookie crop of picks will cost just $436,572 against their salary cap. They currently have an estimated $17.6 million in cap space. This means they would still have over $17 million. That is more than enough to make another couple of moves on the veteran market to improve their depth.
There are still a lot of intriguing names out there who could be a big help to this team:
- Ezekiel Ansah
- Nick Perry
- Timmy Jernigan
- Morris Claiborne
- Muhammad Wilkerson
- Danny Shelton
- Stefen Wisniewski
- Levine Toilolo
Expectations are spending will resume after the first week of May when the deadline for free agents to count against the compensatory pick formula for 2020 will pass. It's likely all of those names will still be available. Better still, their prices will have dropped to a point where several could be had for cheaper than they're probably worth.
Exactly the sort of business play that would entice a guy like Pace.
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