The Chicago Bears have limited cap space at the moment, so why hasn't general manager Ryan Poles restructured any contracts? Here's an explanation in this latest mailbag.
People submitted plenty of great questions for this week's mailbag content. I've already published two articles, answering Bears fans questions about the draft and a potential dark horse candidate to play safety alongside Coby Bryant.
Make sure to go check out those articles, but let's get into today's topic.
Why have the Bears avoided any contract restructuring up until this point? I understand it’s not possible for every contract, but it seems like it’s impacting the free agency & could impact the draft pick contracts. Thanks -- @Trapeze11
Thank you for the question!
According to OverTheCap, the Bears have $243,078 in team cap space. That is the fewest in the NFL. General manager Ryan Poles will have to clear cap space to sign the 2026 Draft class.
At some point, Poles will restructure contracts, potentially release a player or make a trade. Something will happen.
One of the reasons why Poles hasn't restructured any contracts at this point is because he doesn't have to right now. Anytime a restructure happens that kicks money down the road, which creates dead money into future years.
If the Bears had a free agent in mind that they really wanted to sign, they could find ways to make space to sign that particular player. I wouldn't view their current cap situation as restricting them from making moves.
Something that Poles has often expressed is weighing his decisions and how they impact the team now and in the long-term. Restructuring contracts without a legit reason to do so doesn't make sense.
Let's say the Bears don't add any more players in free agency. Then the priority is to create enough space to sign the draft class and move forward from there.
Poles and the rest of this Bears organization will have some big-time contracts to consider next season. Caleb Williams will be eligible for a contract extension in the 2027 offseason. And I would expect the Bears to pick up Darnell Wright's fifth-year option, which the team has to do by May 1.
When thinking about the concerns of this Bears team, finding another edge rusher, left tackle and safety in the upcoming draft should be at the top of mind. The team's cap space, or lack of it, shouldn't worry fans.
As we continue to get closer to the 2026 NFL Draft, we will keep asking for your questions to answer here at Bears Roundtable. There has been a lot of great submissions so far and these mailbag articles will be a consistent throughout the upcoming NFL season.