Chicago Bears: 5 Cut candidates to free up cap space
By Joseph Herff
Charles Leno | Offensive Tackle
This may be the hardest player for the Bears to cut. The former seventh-round pick has been very solid to the Bears over the years despite the constant scrutiny he faces. Charles Leno has helped the Bears immensely as they found a capable starting left tackle in the seventh-round back in 2014.
Leno is a great person and leader for the Bears offensive line, but if the Bears need to save money and upgrade at their offensive line, he may need to go. Leno gets picked on a lot by referees for holding calls and he has false start issues. He kills drives too often and hasn’t cleaned those up outside of 2018.
Like Graham, Leno is a valuable asset to this team. Keeping him is only a smart idea if they only get one starting-quality offensive tackle in the draft or free agency. If they get two or more, they need to cut Leno due to his contract. Cutting him post-June 1st will save them $9 million in cap space.
Other Cut Candidates (only if tanking):
- Akiem Hicks, Defensive Tackle — saves $10.5 million
- Kyle Fuller, Cornerback — saves $14 million
- Cody Whitehair, Center/Offensive Guard — saves $6.5 million
Again, I’m not calling to cut these players, but if they want to tank the season, this will save them plenty of cap space to rebuild next season.