Bears: Ryan Pace must make these salary cap moves for free agency

Who to target in free agency

Now that the Bears are down to between $18 and $23 million dollars to spend, Pace will need to decide which free agents are worth targeting. As previously mentioned, he could look to bring back Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, but he will not come as cheap as he did in 2019. Clinton-Dix only earned $3 million dollars in 2019, but will cost the Bears upwards of $5 million per year going forward.

Clinton-Dix had a solid season, but Pace has to be careful not to overspend. If he can be creative, I would prefer Clinton-Dix being re-signed over trying to find a replacement in the draft or free agency.

Quarterback

I am all for bringing back Chase Daniel on the cheap or bringing in a guy like Case Keenum. I went ahead and signed Keenum to a two-year, $7 million dollar contract in my scenario and have him making $3.5 million in 2020. Spending big money on a free agent quarterback is a mistake in my opinion. Instead, they should draft a quarterback to compete with Mitchell Trubisky and Keenum.

Running Back

None. They do not need to allocate free agency dollars to the running back position. Draft one late in April instead.

Wide Receiver

This is tricky. It will depend on what they do with Taylor Gabriel. Allen Robinson is in the last year of his deal in 2020 too. Maybe they extend him in a way to save more cap room too. He is set to make $15 million dollars in 2020, but an extension could clear up some space for the time being.

There are some interesting names of guys who might hit free agency. Adding another quality target for Trubisky could be what is needed to spark this offense into hyperdrive.

Tight End

Two names I would consider looking into are Eric Ebron and Hunter Henry. Both will probably be locked up before free agency starts though and Pace may never have a chance to speak with either. Henry has some injury concerns too though and therefore we might be looking at another Trey Burton situation. Not good.

Ebron is projected to cost $7 to $8 million per season. He had down year this year compared to his breakout year in 2018, but those numbers were not sustainable. It seems the market value on Hunter Henry is looking to be even more and therefore I’d stick with targeting Ebron.

After Ebron, another option includes rolling the dice with Tyler Eifert. If the Bears were to cut Burton to save $1 million dollars, that money could go to bringing in a new tight end. Every little bit helps and Eifert should not cost more than $3 to $4 million per season.

The Bears also need to target the tight end position in the draft. For now, I have added Eifert for $3.5 million dollars in 2020.

Offensive Line

I have bad news for everyone here. In 2019, the Bears positional salary going to the offensive line was ranked 31st in the NFL. With extensions and salary breakdowns, the Bears find themselves spending the eighth-most at the position in 2020. Granted, cutting Kyle Long saves them $8.1 million dollars and would drop them back down to 19th for the year.

The Bears will not likely be able to make a big splash here. Ideally, they would find a way to sign a guy like Brandon Scherff. Scherff is likely to make north of $12 million per season though. Pace will have to be creative to make enough room for a guy like that, but adding Scherff could be the difference-maker for an offensive line that struggled mightily in 2019.

Bobby Massie and Charles Leno are not going anywhere no matter how bad people want to see them gone. Too bad since I would prefer to see the Bears sign a guy like Jack Conklin who I believe is better than both the Bears’ current tackles.

There will be some cheaper options the team can look at though who could come in and compete. Players should know that their salary should not dictate who starts. The best man wins and if a new player outplays Massie or Leno they should start even if they are earning far less per year.

For fun, I signed Scherff to a $13 million dollars average salary contract and to do so, I restructured Khalil Mack‘s contract again, which freed up $10 million dollars in cap space. Scherff is worth that type of move though.

Defense

The defense has fewer holes to fill. They need some depth on the defensive line and as I already mentioned I believe they need a new starting OLB to take over for Leonard Floyd who just has not lived up to my expectations.

Safety and corner are the other areas the team needs to focus on finding depth or a potential starter. I would love Ha Ha Clinton-Dix to stay and I am giving him a $5 million dollars per year average contract. Something along the lines of a three-year, $15 million dollar deal. Still, less than what Adrian Amos is making and I might be wishfully thinking, but I believe Clinton-Dix enjoyed playing here despite the rollercoaster season. He will take less money to play here again.

At corner they might have to roll out Kevin Toliver. I would be okay if they tried bringing in a guy like James Bradbury from Carolina though. He is not as big of a household name and the team might be able to get him cheaper than some other names out there. He is a quality player though and would make a decent second corner if Toliver were to struggle.

Finally, one discount name I would consider if I were the Bears would be Carl Nassib. He has always been a player I enjoy watching. He has a high motor and plays well in pass-rush situations. I find him to be a slight upgrade as a pass-rusher over Leonard Floyd. Nassib has six sacks for the Buccaneers so far this season.

Alright, just to recap we were able to give Pace $25.5 to $29.5 million dollars to play with for 2020. Then, we added an additional $10 million by restructuring Khalil Mack’s contract again and signed top guard free agent Brandon Scherff. With all of the other additional signings I made, Pace will be at least $2 million under the salary cap. This is the type of strategy Pace must deploy this offseason.