Chicago Bears free agency: Cuts Bears should make to increase cap space

Even though the Chicago Bears have a lot of cap space to hit free agency, there are a lot of holes they need to plug. Here are some cuts that can increase their space and allow them to hit free agency hard.

After a dismal 3-13 record in 2016, the Chicago Bears need to plug up a lot of holes. A lot of the attention is on the upcoming draft in April. They have the third overall pick, so the pressure is on to choose an impact causing player.

Before then, however, there is free agency. Free agency is just as (if not more) important as the draft. A team’s entire draft strategy depends on what happens in free agency. For example, the Bears need a quarterback. They are moving on from Jay Cutler. Some people advocate choosing a quarterback with their first round pick. After two awful seasons, though, the coaching staff wants (needs) to string together some wins. They may not feel comfortable with choosing a quarterback with a pick so high. In that case, they can hit the free agent market and sign a quarterback. They can still choose a quarterback but a little later in the draft.

For example, the Bears need a quarterback. They are moving on from Jay Cutler. Some people advocate choosing a quarterback with their first round pick. After two awful seasons, though, the coaching staff wants (needs) to string together some wins. They may not feel comfortable with choosing a quarterback with a pick so high. In that case, they can hit the free agent market and sign a quarterback. They can still choose a quarterback but a little later in the draft. That way, they have a veteran quarterback who can adjust to the offensive system. Then they can groom the young quarterback to step in later.

The Bears sit in a pretty good position. According to Overthecap.com, the Bears currently have $51.632 million under that cap. That is the ninth-highest available space in the league. The reason for that is general manager Ryan Pace’s contract structures in place since he took over. There were a lot of up-front guaranteed money, but now there are a lot of non-guaranteed money.

The Bears have some players they don’t see in their future and can cut to free up more space. Here are some cuts they should make: