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Cutting him a week ago gives you a shot at the FA CB market. They've signed 2 DL to replace Hicks cheaply. They probably can't truly replace Fuller's production on the cheap unless it's thru the draft, but they still are at a spot where they need to take OT and QB early. Spending another early pick on defense seems counterproductive for a team that's trying to balance offensive and defensive assets/costs, when there aren't any fewer holes on offense than there was last season. Sent from my SM-A115AZ using Tapatalk Were like 36 hours into the official league period though. They had a chance to be active in the CB market. Maybe there was some massive failure on Paces part to plan accordingly, but if you're cutting Fuller you're not replacing him with a top CB. And perusing the FA tracker lists, seems there's still quite a bit out there. I didn't say anything about a "top CB". And obviously now with 11M they can sign a starter or maybe even 2 at another position of need, which then allows them to go CB early in the draft again. But they obviously need a "starting caliber" CB. You don't cut a starting caliber player without adding another starting caliber player. Like I said, sure they can get a guy or two still, but they aren't likely to get them at the most needed positions. The Bears 36 hours ago had HUGE needs at QB and tackle. The only other starter they lost was at SS. They signed players at all 3 of those positions, but still have holes there. Cutting Fuller creates another hole at CB. They obviously aren't going to use the space on another QB. If they are going to use it on a tackle, then makes more sense to cut Leno, since they already re-signed Ifedi to presumably start at RT. They already signed 2 DL, so they could have cut Hicks (which they still may do) which saves just as much as cutting Fuller. I just don't know why at this point we aren't assuming there was a massive failure to plan accordingly with Pace.

What does cutting Fuller a week ago do? Really the only question is when the workout bonus was due. That's your effective deadline to make a decision and not sink 500k. To me you do everything you can to wait until that deadline. Okay maybe there are some "good faith" considerations about not ducking guys around, but it's a little odd they are letting Hicks seek a trade and just cutting Fuller. I don't get that. Cutting him a week ago gives you a shot at the FA CB market. They've signed 2 DL to replace Hicks cheaply. They probably can't truly replace Fuller's production on the cheap unless it's thru the draft, but they still are at a spot where they need to take OT and QB early. Spending another early pick on defense seems counterproductive for a team that's trying to balance offensive and defensive assets/costs, when there aren't any fewer holes on offense than there was last season. Sent from my SM-A115AZ using Tapatalk

Another issue I have with the Fuller cut is again, the timing. You had all off-season to work this out, if he wouldn't take a paycut, couldve cut him a week ago. Also doesn't help that I wanted Troy Hill from LA RAMS who signed today for 4/24 with the Browns. Also, I really don't like Jaylon Johnson's shoulder. Seems like a chronic issue and I can see him missing time again thru his rookie contract. Sent from my SM-A115AZ using Tapatalk

No, probably not but it still should be weighed against cap savings. The dead cap doesn't factor into savings. It's just an issue of timing. The savings is the base salary ($13M) Yeah, I know how it works. I guess my issue is eating 9M to save 11M. I mean, I guess it's better than eating the entire 20M. But if you get a starting caliber CB, you're going to spend 8-10M on one.....so still allocating 19-20Mil of the cap on the CB1.

Exactly. Cutting Fuller, in and of itself, isn't terrible. Cutting Fuller, and paying him 9M in dead cap space, so you can fit Andy Dalton and Germain Ifedi under the cap isn't great......especially when adding Foles and Quinn is a big part of the reason Allen Robinson isn't signed long-term. The dead space should never be a consideration IMO. No, probably not but it still should be weighed against cap savings.

LOL. Robinson signed the tag so it doesn't get rescinded since the Bears are looking at Kenny Golladay. Smart move TBH, with the way the WR FA market has gone so far.

They are but this team has too many other holes and too little cap space to easily replace him. And there were more obvious cuts (Graham, Hicks). Exactly. Cutting Fuller, in and of itself, isn't terrible. Cutting Fuller, and paying him 9M in dead cap space, so you can fit Andy Dalton and Germain Ifedi under the cap isn't great......especially when adding Foles and Quinn is a big part of the reason Allen Robinson isn't signed long-term.

Rumor I read yesterday that ARob was waiting to see what the Bears would do at QB and if he didn't like it, he was going to officially hold out and demand a trade. Can't blame him. Good thing for the Bears is the WR market has started slow so if they move quickly, they can possibly find a replacement.

Step 1: Pay 10-13M for one of the worst QBs in the league to add to your other worse QB in the league. Step 2: Potentially lose your probowl CB

I used to hate that sports media never talked about the Bears. Even when they won, they didn't win pretty enough so it wasn't newsworthy. But maybe that's for the best, because once again the Bears are a media laughing stock. Just like they were when they traded for Foles. Just like they were after a 3-point offensive output in the playoffs Just like they were after the season ending press conference. Just like they are after the multiple primetime blowouts each season.

Bears are going to draft an edge rusher in the 1st round Sent from my SM-A115AZ using Tapatalk

Had a busy afternoon/evening haven't read the posts yet, but this is horsefeathering bad. Ok, you couldn't get Wilson. Why then go for Dalton so quickly? Why not wait out to see what SF does with Jimmy G? See what Vegas does with Mariota. See if Minshew, Darnold, or Bridgewater come available or their prices go down in a trade. Hell, why not wait out Dalton last year if you liked him so much? Sure they all suck, but whats the worst that could happen? Oh you miss out on a mediocre QB?. Who cares? You already have one of those. If you have to settle for a bad QB, why settle before the league year actually begins? Why settle for bad QB whos OLDER than your already bad QB? If the end game is a draft pick at QB who is a long term answer, you're likely looking at the veteran being a part-time starter anyway. Why you in a hurry for that with Foles on the roster? And if you can't get Russ/Watson, dont have the patience for leftovers cut between now and May, and don't care about age, then get Fitzpatrick yesterday before he goes to Washington. He's been a bridge QB before, and he's at least competently terrible. Sent from my SM-A115AZ using Tapatalk

IU fired Archie Miller. Probably a solid move. I don't think Archie can coach or develop talent well enough. Problem is, I don't know that there's a guy out there that can reasonably put IU basketball back where they want to be. The names are all over the place. Of course everyone wants Oats, Beard, or Scott Drew to leave their jobs, which is extremely unlikely. Dane Fife's name has come up. But people are throwing out old head names, John Beilein and Rick Pitino which are I guess interesting. No idea where they're going to go

I've been kinda lowkey waiting for something like this. Get Darnold and have everyone think the Bears are going with him, then flipping him for Wilson. And yeah, they would have to know Seattle even wants Darnold before this could even go down.

Mario Edwards is re-signing with the Bears, muti-year deal. He is suspended for the first 2 games of 2021. Interesting to see what this means for Hicks.

I was wrong, apparently they now have 4M in cap space.

I actually think they were 24M over after the kicker and punter signings. LOL

I really wish we could get a resolution on Wilson so I could know what to root for. Like, if we're actually getting him, then yeah let's do every restructure and every cap saving move possible. Because of the league-wide cap issues, we're going to see a ton of quality players take 1 year deals in a good situation and re-enter the market next year. If we've got Wilson, we're a prime spot for those guys. Don't stress about losing depth because like you said we can probably replace guys for less, and maybe even upgrade while doing so. But if we're not getting a star at QB, I have little appetite for pushing current cap pain forward into future seasons. I don't want to make future seasons worse for the sake of putting a slightly better team around Teddy Bridgewater. Absolutely. Obviously, the Bears have to get under the cap in the next few days. But some of these moves can wait until there is a resolution at QB. Basically you can create space as you need it.

Should see some cuts/restructures over the weekend. It's really interesting because with the cap constraints that every team is facing, you can probably upgrade some decent players while also paying them less money. I've been pro keeping Leno this offseason, but I would approach him about a pay cut first, and if not he's cut. With all the linemen out there, you can probably do better for less than the 11M Leno is due. Hicks may be able to be cut and while not necessarily upgraded, definitely can get production out of a cheaper guy. I'd imagine Fuller gets extended here soon. Whitehair, Jackson and Mack are also potential restructure candidates. Cutting Leno and Graham, full base salary restructure for Whitehair, Jackson and Mack takes you from 14M over the cap to 27M in cap space. That doesn't even include touching Hicks' deal (which gives you an extra 10.5M if cut). You need 19M in space for Wilson (if traded). And you can create more space by restructuring his base salary and extending Robinson. So, getting a starting caliber tackle and some backup depth is very doable but it makes it ugly down the line. You'd probably have to draft a tackle and more depth if you have any picks left. But the Bears can definitely do some things without completely tearing apart the current roster and while adding a top QB.

i always got that impression. at least there seemed to be some sort of connection with nagy. Worked at least 1 year with Nagy in Philly. Not sure if he's buddy buddy with the FO. Yeah, Riddick and Nagy are said to be pretty good friends. Supposedly talk quite often.

I think in most cases, Smith would NOT have 1st round value. But Seattle is interesting in that they aren't tearing everything down if they trade Wilson. They still want to try to compete. So, Smith could have more value to a team like them over say, Houston who would be in a full rebuild if they get rid of Watson. I still think that deal is too light. I feel like the Bears have to really overpay to get this deal done now.

Yeah, it won't be Mack. I've heard Fuller as a possibility. I've also heard speculation that both teams want the trade done (if at all) within the next week because Seattle would like to get a QB that the Bears don't have to give them. And free agency starts next week. Also, the Seahawks don't have a 1st or 3rd round draft pick this year, so they would have time to do draft prep on players they probably haven't even thought to look at with no day 1 pick.

I saw something about how Draft kings took down the odds for Wentz and Stafford the day before their trades went down and the Russ odds were taken down today. Is that what you are talking about? If it happens amazing but I’m not really getting my hopes up. Seems way too good to be true and I’ve been involved with way too many obsessive transaction watches that haven’t panned out. Lot of smoke around this, but all speculation right now. Betting sites taking down Wilson trade odds. Also, a couple have increased the Bears SB odds slightly (likely more due to Robinson getting tagged) Josina Anderson tweeting "Welp" and logging off Twitter for the night a few hours after tweeting about how the Bears HAVE to get a QB Apparently Akiem Hicks and maybe Anthony Miller unfollowed the Bears on Instagram or some crap. Hicks would be a potential cut or trade candidate to clear some cap room. Which could also be unrelated to a trade as the Bears have to cut like 18M more to get under the cap by next week. Sent from my SM-A115AZ using Tapatalk

Yeah. If Robinson is signed, he along with Mooney and an improving Kmet might be about the best targets Russell Wilson has ever had or pretty damn close to the best. He currently has Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf. Thats better than Robinson/Mooney. Sent from my SM-A115AZ using Tapatalk

I think you are reaching the point of overvaluing the QB spot, personally. I guess if I knew the cap was about to explode with a new TV deal the vision becomes clearer as they could just fill around Wilson in FA for a few years, but as things stands now, the Bears aren't necessarily in a great spot to build around Wilson. At least Watson has longer term upside based on age. I'd definitely offer more for him. Yeah that's where I stand. Like Goony's tweet says, it's one thing to give up Floyd, Trubisky and White potentially for a franchise QB. It's another to get a franchise QB and only add 1 David Montgomery level talent over the next 3 drafts. Sure you can sign FAs, and Wilson can possibly help you get good cheap ones on short term deals. And of course, you can get guys like Jackson, Mooney, Amos, and Nichols on Day 3 of the draft. But obviously, that makes things tough. Wilson is clearly good enough to put this team in contention as is, and even as the team transitions from some of their defensive veterans. But I don't know if I can say the same about 35-year old Wilson in 3 years, with those defensive guys all gone and minimal cheap talent added. And while I think Wilson is probably currently better than Watson, I'd give up more for Watson because I think he is more likely to be able to overcome that in 3 years when he's just 28.