The Chicago Bears, finishing 8-8 at an even .500 on the 2020 season, made the playoffs and were promptly eliminated in the first round, losing 21-9 in their NFC Wild Card game against the Saints. With such an abrupt ending to their 2020 season, they had to immediately turn focus to next year as they’ll have some important and tough decisions to make heading into the offseason. They currently look to be about $10 million over the projected salary cap for 2021, so head coach Matt Nagy and the staff will have to choose their next moves carefully.
Lost revenue due to COVID-19 will impact every team, but with so many free agents the likely drop in the league wide salary cap number could make things difficult. The 2020 number was around $198 million, while the 2021 number could drop to $180.5 million according to Over The Cap, but is subject to change.
Franchise/Transition Tag possibilities
Allen Robinson is the only likely candidate, even though he’s been very outspoken about not wanting the franchise tag ahead of next season. The Bears were unable to come to an agreement with Robinson on a contract extension, but still might tag him anyway despite his opposition to it. He seems to want to stay in Chicago if the opportunity is right, but there’s still a chance he could be suiting up for a different team next year depending on how the situation plays out.
Salary cap
Estimated 2021 cap space: $10 million OVER the cap
2021 transactions
Free agent signings
TBD
Free agent departures
TBD
Trades
TBD
Notable unrestricted free agents
Bears 2021 Free Agents
Pos | Player | 2020 Team | 2021 Team |
---|---|---|---|
Pos | Player | 2020 Team | 2021 Team |
QB | Mitchell Trubisky | Bears | |
WR | Allen Robinson | Bears | |
WR | Cordarrelle Patterson | Bears | |
WR | DeAndre Carter | Bears | |
WR | Dwayne Harris | Bears | |
TE | Demetrius Harris | Bears | |
RG | Germain Ifedi | Bears | |
RG | Rashaad Coward* | Bears | |
LT | Jason Spriggs | Bears | |
EDGE | Barkevious Mingo | Bears | |
DT | Mario Edwards Jr. | Bears | |
DT | Daniel McCullers | Bears | |
IDL | Brent Urban | Bears | |
IDL | Roy Robertson-Harris | Bears | |
IDL | John Jenkins | Bears | |
CB | Artie Burns | Bears | |
S | Tashaun Gipson | Bears | |
S | DeAndre Houston-Carson | Bears | |
S | Deon Bush | Bears | |
S | Sherrick McManis | Bears | |
LS | Patrick Scales | Bears | |
K | Cairo Santos | Bears | |
K | Eddy Pineiro* | Bears | |
P | Pat O'Donnell | Bears |
* Denotes Restricted Free Agent (RFA)