Chicago Bears Free Agency: 3 more candidates to be cut
By Ryan Heckman
1. Tight End Ben Braunecker
We will start with the least notable name on this list, tight end Ben Braunecker. The 6-foot-3 former Harvard tight end has been in the league since 2016, with all four seasons being spent with the Bears.
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Braunecker has been rarely used over those four years, and has spent a lot of the time buried on the bench. He has become a guy whom the Bears can use on special teams or when they’re in dire need of a tight end who can simply catch the football, but the latter opportunities have come few and far between.
In his four seasons with Chicago, Braunecker has totaled 13 receptions on 22 targets for 142 yards and one receiving score.
Last year, the Bears re-signed Braunecker to a 2-year deal worth $2.7 million. This season, his contract would pay him $1.35 million and he carries just $150,000 in dead cap. Should the Bears cut him, they save a little over $1 million.
Because the position truly needs an overhaul, it wouldn’t surprise me to see the Bears cut Braunecker in effort to revamp the group as a whole. The only guy I could see as a lock to return is Trey Burton, whom carries an $8.5 million cap hit this season.