Drafting Justin Fields was potentially a great thing for the Chicago Bears. Finding the talented quarterback is always the most difficult step for a franchise. Yet it’s also just the first. One problem this organization has had for way too long is being able to build around their quarterbacks with proper weapons and blocking. Ask Jay Cutler for a reminder of this. GM Ryan Pace and head coach Matt Nagy know Fields will only be as good as what they put around him.
That process has already begun. Chicago drafted four more offensive players after their quarterback including new left tackle Teven Jenkins and wide receiver Dazz Newsome. This was a positive sign that they understand the situation. With Fields being the eventual starter, they once again have a window of opportunity thanks to his cheaper rookie contract. That gives them four years of affordable QB play. Enough time to potentially land some expensive veterans to help fortify the roster. Similar to what they did in 2018 with Mitch Trubisky.
This is why 2022 could be an important year.
The problem is the salary cap. Thanks to COVID-19 and the impact it had on league revenues, nobody is certain about is what the cap will be next year. Will it stay flat at $182.5 million or maybe rise a little bit? Well according to Dan Graziano of ESPN, optimism seems pretty high between the NFL and NFLPA. They’ve set a cap ceiling of $208.2 million in 2022. That would be an increase of $17.3 million.
Subscribe to the BFR Youtube channel and ride shotgun with Dave and Ficky as they break down Bears football like nobody else.
Per source, the NFL and the NFLPA have agreed to a salary cap ceiling of $208.2 million for the 2022 season. If it gets there, that would be a 14 percent increase over the 2021 cap of $182.5 million. (more)
— Dan Graziano (@DanGrazianoESPN) May 26, 2021
The 2019 cap (pre-COVID) was $198.2M per team, and at the time the cap was growing by about $10M per year. At that pace, the 2022 cap would have been about $218M. So $208.2M still isn't "caught up." But it would exceed the expectations of many who feared cap might stay flat.
— Dan Graziano (@DanGrazianoESPN) May 26, 2021
Much of this comes from the expectations that stadiums around the league will be full again this year. Vaccines are running out across the country and restrictions continue to be eased. That along with lucrative new television deals will bring in a massive cash flow. If the cap does indeed reach that ceiling, then the Bears could be in a strong position to go hunting for upgrades.
Justin Fields likely will have more pull than Trubisky did
Current projections indicate Chicago would have just over $50 million in cap space. This presuming Andy Dalton’s contract voids after this season as expected. That gives them plenty of spending money. Even better is they have ways to create even more. Cutting Robert Quinn and Nick Foles would bring an additional $9.7 million in cap space. That would give Pace loads of wiggle room if he wished to do some shopping.
In terms of possible options that will be available. It’s not an inconsiderable list.
- Chris Godwin
- D.J. Chark
- Michael Gallup
- Courtland Sutton
- David Njoku
- O.J. Howard
- Ryan Ramczyk
- Braden Smith
This isn’t counting potential cuts or trade opportunities.
Not to mention what it might do to help retool a defense that has begun to show its age. Any one of those names would be a huge addition to the roster. This isn’t even counting how that cap increase might help the Chicago Bears finally reach common ground on an extension for Allen Robinson. Justin Fields throwing to Robinson, Gallup, and Mooney would be a lot of fun. Just one of many possibilities for the team to consider.
