Chicago Bears Free Agency: Ryan Pace gearing up for a big move?
By Ryan Heckman
Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Pace has made a shift in the team’s salary cap, and suddenly it feels like they’re about to make a splash.
Whatever you may have thought about the Chicago Bears and their plans for 2019 NFL free agency, forget them immediately. The Bears entered this week with limited cash flow, making it tougher to believe they would be anything close to a major player.
Tuesday morning, that all changed.
Per ESPN’s Field Yates, general manager Ryan Pace is up to his old tricks again. Last year, he pulled off the blockbuster deal to land Khalil Mack. This year, he’s making a move involving Mack once more.
Yates reported early on Tuesday that the Bears had converted $13 million of Mack’s deal into a roster bonus, which cleared approximately $11 million in cap space.
With news like this, coupled with the fact that the Bears were rumored to be a sleeper team involved with Le’Veon Bell, what in the world in Pace up to at the moment? Whatever it is, Bears fans should be on the edge of their seat from this moment forward.
The way I see it, Pace could be gearing up for one of a couple different moves.
First, he could indeed go out and get Bell. Now, Bell wants a significant pay day in the form of a contract similar to Todd Gurley. I’m not quite sure if the Bears would invest that kind of money in a running back, but again, don’t put anything past Pace at this point.
One thing to note: Bell tweeted on Monday that he’s “torn” right now — interesting, right?
Second, I think Pace might go all-in on the safety position like other teams seem to be doing. That could come in the form of someone like Earl Thomas. Now, Thomas is seeking upwards of $15 million per year, which is a lot of money for an aging safety who has shown to be injury prone at times. But, if healthy, Thomas would make this defense even scarier.
Option number three, and an option that Pace could even pair with Bell or Thomas, is to invest in a kicker. We all know the demise of the Bears came from the foot of Cody Parkey last season, and Pace has stated he’s committing to fixing that problem.
A kicker like Stephen Gostkowski, Matt Bryant or Jason Myers could end up costing a decent chunk of money, so one of those three may be a possibility.
Next. Bears: 3 reasons to go after Le'Veon Bell. dark
What we know right now is this: The Bears now have an estimated $25 million in cap space after making that adjustment to Mack’s deal. Let’s all sit back and relax (or try to) as Pace works his magic.