3 Chicago Bears players that could be cut this offseason

Eddie Goldman

Eddie Goldman was once on a trajectory to be the anchor of the Bears’ defensive line but he may have fallen out of favor with the team.

After signing a four-year contract extension with the Chicago Bears in 2018 worth $42 million, Chicago Bears nose tackle Eddie Goldman was well on his way to becoming not only an anchor of the Bears’ defensive line but an anchor of the entire defense.

That trajectory continued for Goldman in 2019 but came to a halt in 2020 as the tackle opted of of the season due to COVID-19. There was early speculation last offseason that Goldman may step away from football entirely and retire but that was quickly put the rest when he reported to training camp on time. Goldman struggled to stay on the field during the 2021 season and when he was on the field, he was not the force that he once was.

With the Bears switching from a 3-4 base defense to a Tampa-2 base defense under new head coach Matt Eberflus, Goldman may not be a complete fit for the team’s defense. The Bears can designate Goldman as a post-June 1 cut and save $8.86 million in cap space. Moving on from Goldman and saving $8.86 million in the process may be allow the Bears to come to terms on a new contract with defensive tackle Bilal Nichols. Nichols is a free agent this offseason and is a better fit for the Bears’ Tampa-2 defense than Goldman is.