It’s been a busy offseason for new Bears general manager Ryan Poles, who’s done plenty of work fixing what former GM Ryan Pace left behind. So far, Poles has made good on his promise to build through the draft, and it’s clear that this rebuild — or “retool,” as Poles calls it — will take some time.
While Chicago wasn’t in a terrible position with the salary cap, Poles has been clearing bad contracts — whether that’s trading Khalil Mack to acquire draft capital and free up cap space in 2023 or releasing aging veterans — to start building the roster his way.
Where do the Bears stand in terms of the salary cap entering the summer? Here’s a quick breakdown of Chicago’s cap situation.
Cap space
AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh
$15.87 million (Over The Cap)
The Bears are in a good position with the salary cap heading into the summer. They have the sixth-most available cap space at $15.87 million. Second-round rookies Kyler Gordon and Jaquan Brisker remain unsigned, but Chicago should still have plenty of cap space to work with this summer and heading into the regular season. The Bears designated Danny Trevathan and Tarik Cohen as post-June 1 cuts, which should add an additional $7.29 million to the cap.
Biggest cap hits
AP Photo/Duane Burleson
DE Robert Quinn – $17.14 million
S Eddie Jackson – $15.09 million
OL Cody Whitehair – $12.3 million
LB Roquan Smith – $9.74 million
DL Justin Jones – $4.6 million
QB Justin Fields – $4.29 million
DL Mario Edwards Jr. – $4.22 million
WR Byron Pringle – $4.13 million
DE Al-Quadin Muhammad – $3.5 million
K Cairo Santos – $3.18 million
The Bears’ biggest salary cap hits are on defense with defensive end Robert Quinn and safety Eddie Jackson, who combine for roughly $32 million against the cap in 2022. Offensive lineman Cody Whitehair has the third-highest cap hit at $12.3 million while linebacker Roquan Smith’s roughly $10…