5 salary cap decisions Chicago Bears will have to make in 2024

The Bears already have a good amount of cap space, but that number could rise.

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Carolina Panthers v Chicago Bears | Cooper Neill/GettyImages
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Extension for Teven Jenkins?

Finally, guard Teven Jenkins could be considered for an extension. While that wouldn't do much to the Bears' cap in 2024, the deal would certainly impact future years.

It feels like the Bears need to make a decision on Jenkins this offseason. They have to either commit to him long-term or work on finding someone who can take over his spot as early as 2025. When healthy, Jenkins is a mauler. He's been every bit of what we wanted to see in an early second-round pick.

If Jenkins were to be extended this offseason, I think the Bears could potentially secure a value. He hasn't necessarily played himself into a deal in the realm of a Chris Lindstrom or Quenton Nelson, which would land him over $20 million annually.

However, the Bears could work something out that pays Jenkins around $14-$16 million annually with some flexibility in future years. Because of Jenkins' injury history, giving the Bears some wiggle room after, let's say the second year o the deal, seems fair.

Jenkins can be one of the best guards in football. As long as he's healthy, he's extremely valuable. It's just a matter of whether or not the Bears want to commit to him, and as we've seen in past offseasons, that relationship has had its up