2026 Chicago Bears Offseason Thread

[Tryptamine]

9 minutes ago, Bobson Dugnutt said:

What am I missing? I read after yesterdays moves they now have the 12th most cap space. WF22 outlines a path to open up as much as $45 million in additional space with minimal risk (top two categories from his post). 

The shouldn't be forced into cutting players like this while they have a QB on a rookie deal. They have zero safeties, basically zero LB, they badly need edge, dl, lt and center and next year they're going to have to throw 50M annually at Caleb. Unless they expecting 4 or 5 day 1 starters out of the draft, I'm not sure how they expect to address it all.

[Bobson Dugnutt]

3 minutes ago, Tryptamine said:

The shouldn't be forced into cutting players like this while they have a QB on a rookie deal. They have zero safeties, basically zero LB, they badly need edge, dl, lt and center and next year they're going to have to throw 50M annually at Caleb. Unless they expecting 4 or 5 day 1 starters out of the draft, I'm not sure how they expect to address it all.

They have a path to $100 million in cap space and 4 top 100 draft picks to address those needs. They’re going to be fine.

[Brian707]

Edmunds was very mid. Not worth being upset about being forced to cut him

[Bobson Dugnutt]

I mean, Edmunds and Edwards missed that game against the Steelers and the two scrap heap guys that filled in for them combined for 29 tackles. They can get younger and faster there at a fraction of the cost and better allocate that money elsewhere. This was one of the most obvious cut candidates ever IMO. 

[Bobson Dugnutt]

2 minutes ago, Brian707 said:

Edmunds was very mid. Not worth being upset about being forced to cut him

Yeah he made minimal impact his first two years here and had a decent bounce back last year, but he’s replaceable.

[WrigleyField 22]

46 minutes ago, Tryptamine said:

Given the cap restrictions and the fairly large amounts of needs, I think we're 50/50 to go into  this season better than the last. It really is inexcusable for the cap situation to be this bad while Caleb is still on a rookie contract.  

The cap situation isn't even bad. Poles just hasn't demonstrated any sort of analytical view of cap mgmt. 

[WrigleyField 22]

20 minutes ago, Tryptamine said:

The shouldn't be forced into cutting players like this while they have a QB on a rookie deal. They have zero safeties, basically zero LB, they badly need edge, dl, lt and center and next year they're going to have to throw 50M annually at Caleb. Unless they expecting 4 or 5 day 1 starters out of the draft, I'm not sure how they expect to address it all.

I mean I think you always have to approach cut decisions with an honest assessment even when you have "a lot of space" or  not. That space is always managed over a mid term picture so whether you had $80M of space or $20m of space it doesn't change the question of whether Edmunds worth $15m in 2026. 

 

I think they can replace Edmunds production with like half or less his $. But it does mean they have to be busy.  They have a lot of pluggable holes, but the pure number of them is daunting and a challenge as things move fast as soon as that tampering period opens. 

 

Wouldn't mind seeing a weekend trade somewhere to address a hole in advance of FA. 

[jersey cubs fan]

21 minutes ago, Bobson Dugnutt said:

I mean, Edmunds and Edwards missed that game against the Steelers and the two scrap heap guys that filled in for them combined for 29 tackles. They can get younger and faster there at a fraction of the cost and better allocate that money elsewhere. This was one of the most obvious cut candidates ever IMO. 

Kind of makes you wonder what the guy who signed them in the first place was thinking 

[Bobson Dugnutt]

7 minutes ago, jersey cubs fan said:

Kind of makes you wonder what the guy who signed them in the first place was thinking 

100%. My pet coping mechanism is Poles relies heavily on his coaches for personnel decisions and we’re in better hands with Ben Johnson than Flus. But then I remember Dayo and Jarrett and it all falls apart.

[Geographyhater8888]

18 minutes ago, Bobson Dugnutt said:

100%. My pet coping mechanism is Poles relies heavily on his coaches for personnel decisions and we’re in better hands with Ben Johnson than Flus. But then I remember Dayo and Jarrett and it all falls apart.

They also drafted another injured lineman with a rod in his leg at 62. To their credit found some valuable contributors off the street like Wright, Jackson and CJGJ. 
 

I’ll try and give DA a pass here since he was basically given breadcrumbs to work with. The offense was prioritized first in the draft and free agency/trades.

Edited March 6 by Geographyhater8888

[gflore34]

4 minutes ago, Geographyhater8888 said:

They also drafted another injured non SEC/BIG100 lineman with a rod in his leg at 62. To their credit found some valuable contributors off the street like Wright, Jackson and CJGJ. 
 

I’ll try and give DA a pass here since he was basically given breadcrumbs to work with. The offense was prioritized in the draft and free agency/trades.

Are you referring to Shemar Turner?  If so, Texas A&M is in the SEC no?

[NorthsideAvenger]

23 minutes ago, jersey cubs fan said:

Kind of makes you wonder what the guy who signed them in the first place was thinking 

I rather have had Roquan Smith instead of Edmunds/Edwards. People are still annoyed/pissed about the Claypool trade, and so am I, but I am way more pissed about the Roquan Smith trade. 

[Geographyhater8888]

2 minutes ago, gflore34 said:

Are you referring to Shemar Turner?  If so, Texas A&M is in the SEC no?

Another dumbass error on my end. They do. The first part is true.

Edited March 6 by Geographyhater8888

[Geographyhater8888]

11 minutes ago, NorthsideAvenger said:

I rather have had Roquan Smith instead of Edmunds/Edwards. People are still annoyed/pissed about the Claypool trade, and so am I, but I am way more pissed about the Roquan Smith trade. 

Trading for claypool was senseless. My thing with trading Roquan is that they were a few defensive stops away from 4-13, no first pick and no Carolina trade. The ends justified the means.

Edited March 6 by Geographyhater8888

[We Got The Whole 9]

Its rare that a team doesn't cut a LB making 15m going into his contract year. I think most players pretty much expect it when they sign on the line. Its business as usual.

[Old Style]

[jersey cubs fan]

Not really interested in Crosby for two firsts but if they get something like third round picks in return I wouldn’t hate it. 3rd rounders should still be contributors even if they have very little chance of being difference makers. This team is gonna need picks to replace older players once Caleb gets paid. And Crosby probably only has 2-3 years of being an impact player. Sweat only has 2 years left on his deal. You’d have to draft their replacements in 2026/27/28. 

[jb10194]

I’ve been comparing Hendrickson and Crosby with the thought that their salary would nearly net to zero with the loss of Dalman and DJ. Looking at option A and option B, I’m not sure option A makes the Bears a better team. 
 

A. Crosby with the loss of DJ, Dalman, and a first round (possibly two first round) picks. 
B. Hendrickson with the loss of DJ, Dalman, but with the picks. 
 

I hate it, but if I blink, I can see the DL being a strength if they can land Hendrickson and a solid DT in the draft. Booker would’ve been on pace for 7.5 sacks in 17 games, which is fine for a 3rd DE. Maybe Dayo will have a year 2 turnaround similar to Robert Quinn (we can only hope). 
 

I wonder if their backup is prioritizing a LB that is fast enough to cover the crossers that they had such as issue with last year. 

[BigSlick]

Rashon Gary was released and he's another guy I wouldn't hate taking a look at

[The_Achiever]

Lions LT Taylor Decker has requested a release.  He knows Benjo well.......

[minnesotacubsfan]

30 minutes ago, The_Achiever said:

Lions LT Taylor Decker has requested a release.  He knows Benjo well.......

I like the idea of pciking up Decker which gives you time to see it Ozzie can come back as well

[We Got The Whole 9]

Yes please to Decker 

 

Trey - Maxx

[BigSlick]

I mean, I don't know anything about this guy but I trust Ben.

 

https://x.com/danwiederer/status/2030059338849452497?s=20

Edited March 6 by BigSlick

[MidoreX]

2 minutes ago, BigSlick said:

I mean, I don't know anything about this guy but I trust Ben.

 

https://x.com/danwiederer/status/2030059338849452497?s=20

A 5th next year is a pretty small price to pay, and it's because he's not all that good... And he's old. 

But he's a veteran body. I think they wanted to ensure they had SOMEONE to man the position as a fallback. Also allows them to potentially draft a C and give them someone to learn from

[NorthsideAvenger]

.

Edited March 6 by NorthsideAvenger