2. Chicago Bears will save $2.8M in cap space
One of the reasons the release was a bit of the surprise was that they did not save much cap space in the process. With only a $2.8 million savings, they do not get much out of this move.
Fans will argue that if Burton signs a contract elsewhere, it can help free up cap space for the Bears. However, this goes back to our first point of how injury-related this was. They do not save much but had to move on because they do not seem him contributing at all in 2020.
No team is going to sign Trey Burton until this pandemic is over, and they can have their doctors get their hands on him. Even then, will they pass him to play? How much money can Burton realistically make? Would any team offer more than the veteran minimum for a player who has had two surgeries and has arguably not recovered from either?
The Bears may save a small amount more, but do not expect them to save a significant chunk of money with this decision.
The Bears will save roughly $7 million in 2021, which is a nice saving, but they do not get much overall in 2020.