Is Pernell McPhee’s time with Chicago Bears over?

In unsurprising news, the Chicago Bears shut down Pernell McPhee for the season. Does this mean the end of his playing time in Chicago?

With two weeks left to go in the season, the Chicago Bears are starting to pile up on the Injured Reserve list. On Wednesday, Pernell McPhee was the newest name on the list. McPhee had been fighting a shoulder injury all season. With just two games to go and nothing to play for, and it was time to move on from McPhee in 2017.

Will it be time to move on from McPhee altogether? At his current price tag, absolutely. If the Bears were to hold on to McPhee, who has two years left on his contract, they would be charged $8 million on the salary cap. If they move on from McPhee, that cap charge goes all the way down to $1 million. Even better? In 2019, all McPhee will cost the Bears is $500K if cut, compared to $8.5. These are no-brainer decisions.

Let’s say he likes Chicago. He likes Vic Fangio, who stays in the coaching shuffle, or he knows the new coaching or coaching staff coming in and thinks he has a chance to thrive. The Bears could wind up re-signing him to a very low-risk one-year deal.

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That seems unlikely, though. Some team will convince themselves that it was the stench of John Fox bring down the value of McPhee and that they found a bargain. Time will tell if McPhee is able to pull that off, but the chances of him being on a different team next year far exceed any chances of him being on the Bears.