All Chicago Bears fans were caught up in the excitement of the team selecting Oregon safety Dillon Thieneman with the 25th overall pick of the 2026 NFL Draft, as they didn't realize the team did something else.
Thieneman gives the Bears the weapon they need in the secondary to work alongside free agent signing Coby Bryant. Roster additions aren't the only things the Bears needed to do going into the NFL Draft.
The Bears had a salary cap crisis, leaving them with less than $1 million in cap space. That problem has been solved as Over The Cap's Jason Fitzgerald reports that the Bears restructured the contracts of starting right guard Jonah Jackson and tight end Cole Kmet to create $10.375 million in cap room.
"The Bears converted $13.5 million of Jackson’s salary into a bonus, reducing his cap number by $6.75 million to $12.75 million," Fitzgerald said. "His cap number in 2027 now jumps to $23.75 million. Jackson’s final year under contract is 2027 so he will likely be extended next year if he has a good season in 2026. Kmet had $7.65 million of salary converted to a bonus reducing his cap number by $3.825 million to $7.775 million for the year. His cap number next season is now $15.425 million. 2027 is also Kmet’s final year under contract."
Bears created over $10 million in cap space for the NFL Draft
This was desperately needed as the Bears try to create cap space for their incoming rookies. They will have some expensive salaries coming up since they have two second-round picks and a third-rounder going into Day 2.
It also leaves the door open that the Bears may not be done with the restructuring and moves yet. There's a chance a trade could be in the works if Chicago wanted to shed another expensive veteran salary to take on and instead deal with the rookie contract.
Read more: Dillon Thieneman sent a fiery message Bears fans aren't going to want to ignore
$10 million isn't enough cap space for the draft or any other moves, so don't expect the Bears to be done yet.
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