Chicago Bears: Do backloaded contracts hint at one more big move?
By Ryan Heckman
After an eventful first wave of free agency, could we see one more significant move for the Bears?
Thus far, Ryan Pace has addressed some big-time needs for his Chicago Bears roster. We have seen a few key components take shape with the likes of Allen Robinson, Trey Burton and Kyle Fuller all being locked down.
Pace may not be done making big moves, however. After all is said and done, the projected cap space for Chicago still sits around $32 million. That should be plenty of room to work with for the upcoming draft picks — more than enough, in fact.
With the way Pace has decided to structure the three contracts of Robinson, Burton and Fuller, he has given Chicago a route to make one more move of greater significance if they so choose. All three of their contracts have been backloaded. This means that the greater cap hits are coming later in their deals and in 2018, they will make a lesser amount.
So... The Kyle Fuller structure to his new deal is weird & highly backloaded. #Bears
— Aaron Leming (@AaronLemingNFL) March 17, 2018
18- $6.5M cap hit ($18M dead)
19- $13.5M cap hit ($13.5M dead)
20- $17.5M cap hit ($9M dead)
21- $18.5M cap hit ($4.5M dead)
Long story short, short of a June 1st cut in year 3, it's a 3 yr deal
For Fuller especially, his contract pays out much more in the second half. This season, his cap hit is only $6.5 million as opposed to $13.5, $17.5 and $18.5 million in the following three years.
The structure is certainly different, that’s for sure. So, after monitoring how each deal has been put together, just what exactly is Pace up to?
One move that might make sense is to attempt bringing in Ndamukong Suh. This would be a surprise, though, since the Bears have not been a team among his visits. Although, Pace has made a habit of surprising us in the past.
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Maybe Pace was saving his money to go after a combination of second wave players. Two that might make sense are defensive lineman Kony Ealy and wide receiver Jordan Matthews. With Meredith apparently visiting other teams, Matthews could be a sneaky bargain and fit in well under Matt Nagy.
Could the Bears be in line to make a trade? Or, do they foresee additional cap casualty cuts in the near future? One of those cuts made as we speak is that of Allen Hurns. Could the Bears Eunice he and Robinson? Whatever the reason for these backloaded contracts, I am sure Pace has his reasoning.
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Regardless of his reasoning, Pace is not done by any means. I have a feeling he will make one or two more impactful moves, especially with the financial structuring that has gone on recently.