The Chicago Bears are in a tough spot financially as NFL free agency is set to begin in just over a month. According to Spotrac, the Bears are projected to be more than $9.7 million over the 2026 salary cap, meaning that if they want to make some offseason splashes, general manager Ryan Poles must find a way to free up some cash.
The Bears can alleviate some of that financial burden by restructuring some contracts. That said, they could probably be better off just cutting ties with other big earners, such as linebacker Tremaine Edmunds.
Cutting Tremaine Edmunds is a No-Brainer to Help Bears' Salary Cap Situation
Even though Edmunds led the Bears in tackles this season (112), he was a liability in pass coverage, giving up 56 catches on 71 targets (78.9%) for 530 yards, four touchdowns, and a 93.1 passer rating, according to Pro Football Focus.
Now that Edmunds is heading into a contract year, the Bears might be more willing to cut ties with him if they're worried that his lacklustre coverage will be an issue again. After all, Chicago would save $15 million by releasing Edmunds before his $1 million roster bonus kicks in come early March, which would seriously help with Poles' offseason planning.
With that move, the Bears would also cut ties with another player from the Matt Eberflus era. That would allow them to build a roster according to what defensive coordinator Dennis Allen wants and needs to execute his vision.
Also, with star safety Kevin Byard III set to test free agency, the Bears need to clear space to make sure the league leader in interceptions stays in the Windy City for another couple of years at the very least. Freeing up extra cash by releasing Edmunds would go a long way to help with that goal.
The Bears are absolutely stacked on offense, but their defense is still a work in progress. They need to revamp the front seven, and it all starts with making sure that there's enough money to spread around in free agency.
The Bears' development is clearly way ahead of schedule in the Ben Johnson era, but they will have to prove that this year's success wasn't a fluke. The defense relied too often on big plays and takeaways, and winning all games with late-game heroics isn't sustainable over time.
As such, Poles will have to dig deep and put in a ton of effort to reshape the defense, just like he did with the offense in the past couple of offseasons. The writing is on the wall, and Edmunds should get his realtor on the phone.