The Chicago Bears are in the middle of an important offseason where they’re looking to shore up the weaknesses along their roster. After overhauling the offense last offseason, the hope is general manager Ryan Poles can do the same on defense.
The Bears will turn to free agency and the 2026 NFL Draft to address key needs like defensive tackle, edge rusher and safety, but there’s also some work to be done with the salary cap before the new league year kicks into gear. Where things currently stand, Chicago is $5.3 million over the projected salary cap (which is expected to be between $301.2 million and $305.7 million), per Over the Cap.
But, according to data from OTC, the Bears could save $85.9 million in cap space with simply restructures, which ranks seventh-most in the NFL. A simple restructure involves converting payments into prorated signing bonuses spread out over the remaining years of the contract.
The Bears have some players with significant cap hits heading into the 2026 season, including wide receiver DJ Moore ($28.5 million), defensive end Montez Sweat ($25.08 million), cornerback Jaylon Johnson ($24.5 million), left guard Joe Thuney ($21.5 million), defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo ($20.5 million), right guard Jonah Jackson ($19.5 million), defensive tackle Grady Jarrett ($18.92 million) and linebacker Tremaine Edmunds ($17.43 million) among others.
Now, not all of those players will receive contract restructures as Poles could deem them expendable and move forward by cutting them or trading them. But the important thing is that, while Chicago appears to be in salary cap trouble, that’s never the case in the NFL. Expect plenty of moves from the Bears to free up cap space in the coming weeks.
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Here’s how the Bears can save roughly $85M in salary cap space
Reporting by Alyssa Barbieri, Bears Wire / Bears Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
