The Chicago Bears need to make a decision regarding Prince Amukamara this offseason. All signs point to him being a cap casualty. If the Bears cut ties with him, they will need to look at replacing him. Here are some discounted options.
The Chicago Bears need to find ways to add cap space this offseason. One way to do this is for Ryan Pace to cut ties with Prince Amukamara. Amukamara has been solid for this defense. He has his flaws but overall has been an average corner for this defense.
The problem is that Amukamara is scheduled to earn $10 million dollars this season. That would make him the 19th highest cap casualty in 2020. Other names that are around him on the list include Janoris Jenkins, Richard Sherman, and Casey Hayward. In fact, even Kyle Fuller is close as he is set to be the highest 14th highest cap casualty in 2020.
If the Chicago Bears were to release Amukamara, the team would save $9 million dollars. This move is a no-brainer in my opinion. Amukamara has served his time here well, but it is time to say goodbye. The team will need to find a serviceable replacement though.
While playing for the Bears, the team has benefited by allowing Amukamara and Fuller the ability to play man coverage when needed and they did it fairly well. Even though Amukamara does not have the interception numbers that scream superstar, he has been a strong coverage corner with his 29 pass deflections over three years. That is nearly 10 pass deflections per season.
The problem is that his salary this season does not reflect well for his numbers. Plenty of other corners could be had for less who also can cover fairly well despite not racking up the turnovers. Ryan Pace should let Amukamara walk and bring in one of these free agents to compete with Kevin Toliver for the starting corner spot opposite of Kyle Fuller.