Five Bears with the most to lose in 2017

2. Pernell McPhee

McPhee is younger and is a better talent than Lamarr Houston at this point in their careers. However, he has a lot on the line after two disappointing seasons in Chicago.

When McPhee is on the field, he has been excellent. He has put up 10 sacks in 868 snaps with the Bears. However, he missed two games and four starts with some injury issues and started the 2016 season on the Physically Unable to Perform list.

McPhee should be healthy to enter this season, and he had better be or the Bears may start exploring options. If he were cut this season, the Bears would save roughly $6 million. That seems pretty unlikely, but another year of hoping and expecting rather than seeing would be very frustrating.

So frustrating to the point that he would most certainly become a name on the chopping block as the 2018 offseason begins. If McPhee were cut next offseason the Bears would only owe him $1 million in 2018, and $500 thousand in 2019. He would lose out on roughly $15 million over those two seasons.

McPhee has the incentive this season to perform at peak performance, and if he does not it may cost him in the long run.