With the signing of Drew Dalman and some sketchy early signing term, it's obvious now what the next Bears step needs to be in fortifying roster depth.
Early reports say they managed to push off $8 million of the 2024 Thuney cap cost to the future with this extension, much the way they did with Jonah Jackson's contract.
This doesn't help them for the 2026 cap, when they're going to need to lose some salary. It does give them the chance to fill the two major roster holes GM Ryan Poles failed to address in the draft.
They positional holes would be running back and edge rusher.
The Bears were almost at the zero level for cap cash. Overthecap.com had them at $6.756 million but this total does not include the three second-round draft picks they must sign. Spotrac.com projects those three second-round slots to be around $4.7 million total so with the money they just got back on Thuney's deal and the $2 million they had left under the cap, they'll be around $10 million available.
They can't go on a big spending spree but could find a few effective play eaters.
This is about all they're going to get with this amount of available cash, unless they restructure more contracts and try to get back more money.
The need for either position might not be something the Bears immediately address. Poles has expressed an interest in looking at the players he brought in through the draft and free agency at OTAs/minicamp before anyone else is added.
The Bears had obvious offensive line holes in 2022 and Poles did not act until just before training camp started, when he brought in Riley Reiff. In 2023, they still needed pass rush help and it was much the same situation as now. They signed Yannick Ngakoue in early August after camp started.
In 2024, they looked at their pass rush situation until the end of preseason and decided they needed more, then traded with Seattle for Darrell Taylor and with Cleveland for defensive tackle Darrell Taylor.
The message is he likes to take a good look at what he has before committing to spending more money. He even said as much in an interview with David Kaplan and J. Hood on AM-1000 earlier this month.
"We have a short list that we're looking at of guys that are available," Poles told Kap & J. Hood. "We always, again, stay opportunistic there and we have conversations entirely of 'Is this going to be the right move for us? Is there a fit?' And we'll continue to have those conversations as we go.
"I know we really want to get this new coaching staff with the (drafted) players that we have to see if they believe that they can help us but, again, we'll always keep our eye on the short list to see if we need to bring someone in to create competition and see if we can raise the level of talent in that (position) room."
That would be when they would do it. Here's who's left to look at in terms of quality.
The best veteran free agent edge to add is Jadeveon Clowney, although it's uncertain they'd be able to afford him.
Clowney signed with the Panthers last year for two years at an average contract cost of $10 million a year.
Clowney has had only one sub-par season by Pro Football Focus grades. He still rushes the passer well and plays the run better than he's given credit for doing. But the Bears are looking mainly for a pass rusher to rotate in on the edge, and unless Clowney's value dropped greatly they wouldn't afford him on a bigger contract.
More likely might be Matthew Judon, who Ryan Poles pursued in a trade last year but lost out to Atlanta. The Falcons didn't get what they hoped from Judon, with 5 1/2 sacks, the same amount as Clowney last year. Judon had 15 1/2 sacks in 2022 and 12 in 2021, and Clowney has never had more than 9 1/2. Clowney has 14 fewer career sacks than Judon (72).
Also available are Za'Darius Smith and Von Miller.
Smith had 23 1/2 sacks over the last four seasons. Miller is 36 years old now and was a rotational player the last two seasons.
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The back who fits what they're doing best is Jamaal Williams, who played as D'Andre Swift's power-oriented partner in Johnson's first Lions offense in 2022.
However, Williams is 30 years old. Williams didn't have a severe injury the last two years in New Orleans but struggled there after leaving the Lions following his NFL-high 17 rushing touchdowns in 2022. He averaged only 3.1 yards per carry in two Saints seasons and it's possible his career might be viewed as over, but he had averaged 4.0 yards a carry with 1,667 yards and 20 TDs rushing in two Lions years after leaving the Packers.
Williams was in New Orleans on a deal averaging $4 million a year.
In terms of past talent, Nick Chubb is easily the best but he endured a terrible knee injury. He's now a few seasons removed from it but at age 29 it's often tougher to regain the speed and strength than it was earlier in a player's career.
Dobbins might be the best available because he's only 26 and appears healthy now after injury issues earlier in his career. Because of that, Spotrac.com gives him the highest market value at $4.1 million a year.
Former Vikings/Texans/Rams back Cam Akers is also available and has been in a shared backfield role in the past. He was good enough that after the Vikings had him leave as a free agent, they traded to get him back. Akers' contract has been on the low end the last two years, at $1.175 million a year. He was coming back last year from his second Achilles tear and is a year and a half removed from it.
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