Last look at Bears cap before free agency and who is most tradable

It’s time for a final cap health check.

Teams in need of cap space have the ability to find it by turning some of the salary in a player’s current contract into bonus money prorated against the salary cap in future years.

Borrowing from the future for now is a practice the Bears used repeatedly under Ryan Pace and the end result eventually is so much dead cap space being taken up by players no longer playing that you’re unable to afford nice things. That’s why GM Ryan Poles had to do what he did when he took over and gutted the roster. They cleaned up the cap and it was painful.

However, the Bears are now in a good cap situation and if they needed a bit of extra money there are a few contracts where they could find it.

According to Overthecap.com, the Bears have $40.1 million in effective cap space left after the trades and signings they’ve made. Effective cap space is a more accurate figure than the simple salary cap total because it includes the amount they need to pay from the rookie pool for their draft picks and also the top 51 players in terms of cap cost who are under contract for 2025.

The Bears are now 16th in available cap space. All of the money they before the trades has been whittled away from the 69 million they had a week ago.

The Patriots have $117.3 million left, the Chargers $83.3 million and Arizona $74.5 million.

Plenty of teams are more able to delve into free agency looking for help than the Bears are now.

In addition, the Bears will want some money to give out a contract extension to Kyler Gordon, if not one or two other players.

Where they find cash

Big clumps of unguaranteed cash in salaries are the best place to find ways to restructure and get back salary cap space.

• Montez Sweat: He has a base salary of $20.9 million this year and that’s the best place to start because his extension has been in effect since the middle of the 2023 season. Sweat has only $4.08 million cost in prorated signing bonus so if they want money back to add to the $40 million his is the best place to find another $10 million to $15 million.

• DJ Moore: There is money like this in Moore’s contract as well as Jaylon Johnson’s. They just gave those players extensions, though. If you’re going to start taking back money from players who just got their contract, you’re going to look pretty incompetent and also cause some players to wonder what’s going on. Moore does have $20.65 million in cash for this year in salary and Johnson $15.9 million. If worse came to worst they could eventually restructure those with bonus money. Players don’t mind getting handed a big check, but you’re going to give them a restructure bonus with it. So you’re eating up more cap space. It’s not a thing to do unless you have to do it.

• Tremaine Edmunds: Probably the best deal to do do it with besides Sweat’s is Tremaine Edmunds’ deal with $14.9 million in salary and just $2.437 million in bonus money.

• Others: D’Andre Swift and Cole Kmet are also in situations like this but their salaries are less–Swift at $7.39 million a Kmet at $9.9 million. So there’s less available to restructure.

The Bears could spend down close to the cap, in theory, then get back enough money to operate with during the season as they bring in players in case of injuries and do extensions for one or two players. Something like $10 to $15 million in available cap space left for operations is best now.

You never know what kind of injury might happen in OTAs and minicamp. Everyone thought guad D.J. Dozier was going to be part of their plans in 2022 and then he suffered a torn ACL in offseason practice and they were left trying to fill his spot at the last minute out of weekly operating money.

Most Tradeable Players

This is the other personnel issue tied to the cap. If they wanted to trade someone for draft picks or another player, all of the remaining prorated bonus money counting against the player’s contract in future years immediately becomes dead cap space.

This is why it’s difficult for a player like Myles Garrett to be traded at this time. He has far more bonus money being counted annually against the cap than the team can manage and all of this would be money no longer available to the team if he’s dealt. It changes as the years go by with the contract, though, and next year he’d be easier to deal.

Again, just like with their cap situation for

Here are the Bears’ most tradeable players by cap situation and this doesn’t include Jonah Jackson and Joe Thuney because why would you trade for someone and then turn around and trade them to someone else. Duh:

• Montez Sweat: After June 1, that is. After that date, they would have a cap savings of $21 million by trading him and their dead cap hit would be $4.085 million. Before June 1, forget it.

• DJ Moore: Again, after June 1 he is. Before that the cap hit would be too great to mess with it. If he’s traded, they take a $4 million dead cap iht but get $20.9 million in cap savings.

• Jaylon Johnson: After June 1 it’s $16 million in cap savings and $5 million in dead cap.

• Cole Kmet: With Kmet’s deal, they wouldn’t necessary have to take the June 1 dsignation because the cap savings would be $6.8 million and the dead cap $4.8 million but after June 1 it’s far better at $10 million in cap savings and $1.6 million in dead cap hit.

• D’Andre Swift: It’s much like Kmet’s in that there is savings even if he were traded now. They’d save $6.6 million and the dead cap hit would be $2.6 million. But again, like with Kmet, it’s much better after June 1 at $1.3 million in dead cap but $8 million in savings.

The most tradeable player contracts are always with players in the final year of their deal because there is no reason to trade someone after June 1 in most cases. Almost all the prorated bonus has run its course. Here are tradeable players in the final year of their deals.

• Kevin Byard: He’d provide $7 million in cap savings and $1.5 million deducted in dead cap space no matter when he was traded.

• Ryan Bates: The guard/center who barely played last year would provided $4 million if traded and there is no dead cap involved.

• Braxton Jones: There is $74,887 in dead cap space with bonus money and $3.65 in savings.

• Jaquan Brisker: He has $3.4 million in cap savings if dealt, nd only $632,371 in dead cap.

• T.J. Edwards: He has $1.5 million in dead cap and $5.5 million in savings if traded.

• Kyler Gordon: He’ll save $3.656 million and just $873,714 is created in dead cap.