5 things to know about new Chicago Bears WR Ihmir Smith-Marsette

1. Chicago Bears inherit Ihmir Smith-Marsette contract

Just like with Armon Watts, and Alex Leatherwood, the Chicago Bears claiming a draft pick on a rookie salary means that they pick up their rookie contact. For Ihmir Smith-Marsette this is pretty doable.

The team will be on the hook for $900K this season. Then, in 2023 it will be just a little over $1M. Finally, in 2024 his contract will be $1.134M, and that will be the last year of his deal.

So, a three-year deal worth about $3M is not a bad deal. In the case of Leatherwood, there was a question of whether they would want to eat his money if he was a bust. In the case of Ihmir Smith-Marsette the cost is so small that if he does fail, they could cut him and eat $2M. At the same time, if he does well this season they now have a baragian the next two years before they have to decide what they have in him.

Getting the rookie contract is certainly an added bonus that made claiming him easier to swallow. It also points to Pettis being on the fringe again, as he is a free agent after this season anyways.