Aaron Leming’s 2025 Chicago Bears Mock Offseason Extravaganza…
In his annual mock offseason, Aaron Leming spells out (almost) every move the Bears should make to get them back into contention. Be prepared, it’s a long read!..
The start of the NFL’s “legal negotiation period” is a weekend away. The offseason has been more fun and engaging for Chicago Bears fans than the product on the field from September through early January. With new life being breathed into the organization after a full-on coaching staff reshuffle, head coach Ben Johnson and his staff should heavily influence how the Bears approach the acquisition period.
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For a third straight season, Chicago ranked near the top of the league in projected cap space. Thanks to general manager Ryan Poles’ conservative approach in the three previous offseasons, their ability to use simple restructures could free up another $69 million in cap space. That approach should still be used as a “break glass in case of emergency” route, but flexibility exists.
With a shiny, expensive new head coach and a front office that is motivated to win and win now, I’m expecting a more active free agent period than usual. After all, head coach Ben Johnson said it himself during his opening press conference: “The bar has never been set higher than it has been now.” His claims of them being ready to win and win now should be reflected in their approach this offseason, especially in free agency. The idea would be that with an expensive offseason, the team’s need for free agency in the coming years will be much more targeted and less reliant on filling multiple holes. With that in mind, let’s dive into yet another yearly Chicago Bears Mock Offseason.
What The Bears Will Be Working With (Finances):
2025 Cap Space ($279.2M + $5.084M rollover) $284.208M
Dead Cap: $4.052M
Current Cap Space (Top 51): $44.452M (Projecting veteran additions of Blackwell, Ogbongbemiga, and Smythe. Projected at -$3.98M)
Projected Draft Class: ($11.464M) $5.584M
In-Season Spending (53-man roster, practice squad, roster moves): $9M
Total Projected Functional Cap Space: $29.868M
Roster Specifics:
Current Roster: 54
Minimum Contract: $840K
Once the Bears reached the minimum 51 players on their 90-man roster, each additional signing, draft pick, or trade acquisition will replace the lowest contract on the Top 51 of the team’s roster. For example, if the Bears sign a player that accounts for a $2 million cap hit in 2025, that contract would replace an existing one of $840,000. Instead of absorbing the entire $2 million cap hit, the “true” cap consequence would be $1.16 million.
Unless that player is cut during training camp, the same thought process works when accounting for their upcoming draft class. The primary reason to point this out is to show players have “hidden savings” when signed, traded for, or drafted. Conversely, the same accounting purposes must be used if/when the team cuts a player. You’ll see two examples below.
According to Over The Cap, the Bears now rank 12th in total cap space ($51.382 million) and 13th in “effective” cap space ($43.278 million) after their two big trades along the offensive line. Effective cap space accounts for getting to the 51-player minimum and their projected draft class. It should be noted that this does not account for their recent futures signing of Maurice Alexander. It was, however, reflected in my numbers above. In addition to these numbers, they can save a maximum of $69.081 million from “simple” restructures or $112.1 million with “max” restructures. Without getting into much detail about this, max restructures are not something Poles will likely use due to adding in void years. Fans can still expect him to be relatively conservative regarding simple restructures. At most, I’d expect $20-25 million to come from restructures, if needed. In my mock, I choose to take advantage of one restructure for a player who will be here long after the impacts of dead money are an issue.