Green Bay Packers: Previewing the Chicago Bears 2023 Offseason
By Paul Bretl
In addition to dissecting what lies ahead for the Green Bay Packers this offseason, including the salary cap, free agency, and the draft, I’ll also be previewing the coming months for the rest of the NFC North with some help.
Zach Payne of SideLion Report was kind enough to answer a few questions of mine about Detroit, and Vinnie Parise of Da Windy City did the same for the Chicago Bears. The Bears were the worst team in football, but they have a lot of opportunity in front of them with a massive amount of cap space and, of course, the No. 1 pick. The question remains, however, can they capitalize on the opportunity?
In addition to Vinnie’s responses to the questions I asked, I’ll also be providing a few of my thoughts along the way.
What is the Bears’ cap situation? Any tough cap decisions that’ll need to be made?
Vinnie: The Chicago Bears have the most cap space in the NFL, and the next closest team isn’t even close. The only decision that needs to be made is whether or not they are going to spend this off-season or wait for another year of rebuilding to pass.
It might be wise for them to consider adding some help right away so they can work on further developing their quarterback.
Paul: According to Over the Cap, the Bears have just over $98 million in cap space–a massive amount. The Packers, meanwhile, are still in the hole $9.6 million. Truthfully, if the Packers and Bears ended up interested in the same player during free agency, Chicago could simply offer more money with how limited Green Bay will be with their spending. And although not a salary cap related decision, Chicago will have an important one in deciding what to do with the No. 1 overall pick. Do they stay put? But then who do they pick? Or do they trade back?
In order for the Packers to get out of the salary cap red, they are going to have to rely on contract restructures to free up the needed cap space by kicking the salary cap can down the road. Jaire Alexander, Kenny Clark, David Bakhtiari, Rasul Douglas, De’Vondre Campbell Rasul Douglas, and Pat O’Donnell are all due roster bonuses in the coming weeks that total over $35 million. These will be the contracts that the Packers restructure by converting the roster bonuses to signing bonuses.
Although the Packers have plenty of options when it comes to creating the required cap space, they will once again be limited in free agency–meaning no big signings. While cap space may be created now through these restructures, those cap hits don’t just disappear; rather, they are pushed into future years.
What are the three biggest positions of need for the Bears to address this offseason?
Vinnie: 1. Offensive line: Justin Fields won’t have a long career if he continues to take all of that abuse. Yes, he can make plays to scramble, but there need to be other ways to move the ball.
2. Wide receiver: Fields won’t develop his arm if he doesn’t have anyone to throw to. Darnell Mooney is a pretty good player, but they need to add more talent to the WR room.
3. Defensive line: Their defense as a whole needs a lot of work, but they had one of the worse defensive lines in the NFL last year. They traded away all of their great pass rushers, and now they need to get some new ones back over the summer.
Paul: Whether through free agency, the draft, or both, there are four positions that the Green Bay Packers have to address at some point this offseason. The tight end room is lacking both depth and playmaking at the moment, and the same could be said for the safety position as well. The only players returning at those positions with any sort of regular playing experience are Josiah Deguara and Darnell Savage.
Wide receiver will again be a need for the Packers. They need to continue adding more playmaking to this position but also need some veteran experience as well. Currently, Romeo Doubs is the most experienced player at the position in terms of snap counts. Lastly, the edge rusher depth has to be addressed. This was a concern a year ago, and we saw why after Rashan Gary’s season ended with the Packers struggling to generate regular pressure.
Who are some of the Bears’ key free agents that they will have to address this offseason?
Vinnie: David Montgomery is really the only Chicago Bears free agent right now that will get lots of attention from other teams if he doesn’t return.
The Bears were the worst teams in the NFL, so it isn’t like they have this surplus of talent that other teams are begging for. Of course, some of these new free agents will find homes, but Montgomery is the only truly notable one.
Paul: The Packers have 17 free agents in total–14 of which are unrestricted and three restricted free agents. Some of the notable names include Allen Lazard, Mason Crosby, Randall Cobb, Marcedes Lewis, Robert Tonyan, Jarran Reed, Adrian Amos, Keisean Nixon, and Dean Lowry.
Players like Lazard, Amos, and Reed could end up outside of what the Packers can afford. Lewis, Crosby, and Cobb could be tied to Aaron Rodgers. In my “Re-sign or Let Go & Prediction” series, I predicted that Tonyan would return along with Nixon, Rudy Ford, Eric Wilson, and Dallin Leavitt. However, I believe the rest do end up playing elsewhere.