NFL teams can jump through hoops and perform mathematical exercises to avoid salary cap issues in most seasons.
The Chicago Bears are caught in a perfect storm, however, stuck at the intersection of years of kicking cap commitments down the road and a salary-cap rollback created by lost revenue in the COVID-19 pandemic.
That led the team to release cornerback Kyle Fuller on Thursday night, a move that clears $11 million in cap space and at the same time creates a huge void in the secondary. Forget about who the team is going to get to play nickel cornerback right now and focus on who the Bears will line up on the opposite side of Jaylon Johnson in Week 1.
Rival executives were buzzing Wednesday morning at the possibility the Bears would cut Fuller, and it happened Thursday evening with the team strapped for cap space and needing to add the contracts of quarterback Andy Dalton and right tackle Germain Ifedi, among others. It could be the first of multiple moves for the team.
The Bears have given defensive lineman Akiem Hicks permission to seek a trade, sources say. Whether or not that remains the case is unknown. Hicks is entering the final year of his contract and is due to earn $10.5 million this season. A source said Hicks wants a substantial raise in a new contract if he’s traded, which seems unlikely.
Fuller was entering the final year of the four-year deal he signed in 2018 when the Green Bay Packers inked him to an offer sheet as he was on the transition tag. The Bears renegotiated the terms of Fuller’s contract before the 2019 season finale to create cap space in 2020, driving his cap hit for this season to $20 million. He was set to earn $14 million this season and that likely made it difficult to trade him. Now, the 29-year-old hits the market with a chance to get a lucrative pay day from another team.
Now, we’ll see if the Bears can find the room to retain Hicks.
