With Chicago Bears cuts at premium positions, why not Jimmy Graham?

The Chicago Bears released Charles Leno, which is a relief to some fans but nonetheless takes depth away from a position that they just drafted because they lacked depth. Beyond that, the team lost Kyle Fuller earlier this year, a devastating hit to their defense.

Losing a left tackle and cornerback are tough no matter who they are. Still, the biggest question that comes with losing is both is why is Jimmy Graham still on the roster?

The Chicago Bears could have saved $7 million to release Jimmy Graham. To be fair, they saved $11 million from Fuller and saved $9 million from Leno. They would have likely had to cut one anyways but had they kept the other and lost Graham, the difference would have been $4 million or $2 million.

The Bears signed Desmond Trufant to a little over a million as well, so the difference between keeping Graham and keeping Fuller is less than $3 million. Maybe the Bears need every last penny, but in the NFL with a cap near $200 million, teams can find ways to shift a million here or there to get under. It seems as though they wanted to keep Graham over Fuller.

Again, the Bears added offensive line depth, but that is two rookies. They also have been lacking depth for years. Even if Leno was an expensive backup, guess what? Jimmy Graham is an expensive backup. Again, the difference here is $2 million, and if the Bears do sign depth on the line, the difference is even less.

Sure, the backup tight end plays more snaps than the backup tackle. We also know that Matt Nagy loves depth at the tight end spot. Still, the backup tackle will surely be more valuable in the long run, especially if there is an injury. Beyond that, you can find a replacement at the tight end much cheaper than at tackle.

Maybe the Chicago Bears continue to make these moves and release Jimmy Graham as well. Still, they currently released a starting cornerback and tackle to save very little comparatively than had they just released Jimmy Graham. The move remains curious.