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Bears salary cap breakdown entering 2022 season

Alyssa Barbieri
·4 min read
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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.

Biggest cap hits

AP Photo/Duane Burleson

  1. DE Robert Quinn – $17.14 million

  2. S Eddie Jackson – $15.09 million

  3. OL Cody Whitehair – $12.3 million

  4. LB Roquan Smith – $9.74 million

  5. DL Justin Jones – $4.6 million

  6. QB Justin Fields – $4.29 million

  7. DL Mario Edwards Jr. – $4.22 million

  8. WR Byron Pringle – $4.13 million

  9. DE Al-Quadin Muhammad – $3.5 million

  10. 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 million cap hit is a steal considering he’s about to get paid north of $19 million per year when he signs an extension. Elsewhere, newcomers defensive tackle Justin Jones and wide receiver Byron Pringle clock in among the top 10, as well as quarterback Justin Fields, who’s a steal at $4.29 million.

Dead money on the cap

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TOTAL: $56.74 million

  • DE Khalil Mack – $24 million

  • QB Nick Foles – $7.67 million

  • DL Eddie Goldman – $5.15 million

  • QB Andy Dalton – $5 million

  • TE Jimmy Graham – $4.66 million

  • OL Charles Leno Jr. – $2.8 million

  • LB Danny Trevathan – $2.43 million (effective June 2)

  • RB Tarik Cohen – $1.75 million (effective June 2)

  • OL Germain Ifedi – $1.5 million

  • S Tashaun Gipson – $750,000

  • TE Jesse James – $487,500

  • RB Damien Williams – $375,000

  • WR Riley Ridley – $170,649

The Bears have $56.74 million in dead money, which ranks second in the NFL behind the Atlanta Falcons ($63.16 million). Chicago traded Khalil Mack to the Los Angeles Chargers to acquire draft capital and alleviate salary cap space in 2023. But the result was eating $24 million in dead money in 2022. The Bears parted ways with quarterback Nick Foles after failing to find a trade partner, which left them no choice but to eat $7.67 million in dead cap. After contract restructures last year, quarterback Andy Dalton and tight end Jimmy Graham still account nearly $10 million in dead money. The Bears designated Danny Trevathan and Tarik Cohen as post-June 1 cuts, which accounts for $4.18 million in additional dead money.

How can Bears still save?

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Poles has made several moves this offseason to clear bad contracts from the books and free up salary cap space in 2022 and beyond. Chicago currently has the sixth-most available cap space ($15.87 million), and they could create more. One way they could is entertaining trading defensive end Robert Quinn, which would free up $12.9 million in cap savings and cost $4.24 million in dead money. But it doesn’t seem likely, at least right now. Another move the Bears could make involves cutting defensive end Jeremiah Attaochu, which would free up $2.45 million with $650,000 in dead money. Still, it’s not likely Bears do anything else to add to their cap space.

Spending

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  • Offense: $65.55 million

  • Defense: $97.82 million

  • Special teams: $5.65 million

When looking at the spending breakdown, the first thing that stands out is that the Bears are spending nearly $100 million on defense — and it’s not even close with the offense clocking in around $65 million. Granted, defensive end Robert Quinn and safety Eddie Jackson combine for the bulk of that difference (around $32 million). Chicago’s biggest offensive cap hit is offensive lineman Cody Whitehair at $12.3 million.

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