The Chicago Bears will have little to no wiggle room in the offseason. According to OverTheCap, the Bears are currently $5.3 million over the salary cap, so general manager Ryan Poles will have to do plenty of financial juggling to make the books work ahead of free agency.
That's one of the many reasons why this team can't afford to bring Andrew Billings back next season. The veteran defensive tackle will become a free agent next month, and barring a shocking turn of events, he's already played his last snap for the Bears.
That is, unless he's willing to perform a selfless act to extend his Windy City tenure.
Andrew Billings Must Take Huge Pay Cut to Remain with Bears
As things stand now, there should be only one path for Billings back to Chicago. That should be as a training camp invitee or on the cheapest possible deal if the team doesn't land a high-end defensive tackle in the NFL draft. Other than that, there's literally no incentive to bring him back.
Billings was one of defensive coordinator Dennis Allen's primary liabilities. He went from being an elite interior defender to a drill cone against the running game, and at 30 years old, he's not likely to get much better at this point.
Pro Football Focus gave Billings a 38.6 overall grade, which was the third-worst among 134 eligible defensive linemen. He played the 24th-most run-defense snaps (286) in the entire league, yet the Bears gave up 134.5 rushing yards per game, the fifth-most last season. His undisciplined ways were also prominent, finishing with a career-high five penalties.
The Bears desperately need to revamp the front seven. That will probably be the primary point of emphasis this offseason, as they didn't get much from Grady Jarrett, either. This defense relied way too much on big plays and turnovers, and that's simply not sustainable over time. Caleb Williams won't lead a comeback or a game-winning drive every week.
Every penny will count in the offseason. Spotrac projects Billings' market value at two years and $5.02 million. Granted, $2.5 million a year would be a bargain for a veteran run-stopper, but Billings didn't stop anybody last season.
As fast as it may seem, the Bears are on the verge of Super Bowl contention. They're clearly far ahead of schedule, but they won't sneak up on anybody in 2026. Everybody will be ready for head coach Ben Johnson's team after such an impressive campaign, and they can't afford to make the same mistakes and have the same liabilities holding them back next season, especially now that they will face a much tougher schedule as divisional champions.
With that being said, all signs point to Billings likely playing elsewhere next season unless he's willing to do right by Chicago.