Chicago Bears: Core players in line for a contract extension

6. Conclusion

Over the next two years, it’s clear that the Bears will have multiple contract extensions that they’ll need to hand out. While the Bears will have one of the NFL’s worst salary cap situations in 2020, so freeing up cap space will be necessary in order to retain the players mentioned in this article.

Essentially, the ideal gameplan for the Bears here would be to renew the contracts of Mitchell Trubisky, Eddie Jackson, and Tarik Cohen. Regarding Leonard Floyd and Cody Whitehair, things get complicated for two reasons. First, it will come down to what the Bears value and second, what type of money do Floyd and Whitehair want.

Of all the players that could potentially end up leaving the Bears via free agency, Floyd seems like the one player who will get overpaid by another team. Since the Bears have invested in Khalil Mack, it will be harder to retain Floyd, especially with a contract for Roquan Smith that will come in another four years.

The Bears will have tough decisions to make. This past offseason, the team experienced the same with Adrian Amos and Bryce Callahan and saw both players depart to get bigger paydays. Some of the players on this list could end up doing the same. While Ryan Pace has proven that he can take care of some of the best players on the Bears roster, the reality is that Pace will need to make some tough decisions over the next few years.