Well the 2025 NFL season sure was fun. But now that it is almost March, it is time to put that season in the rearview mirror and to focus on the season ahead.
One of the many problems with a salary keep is that it inevitably means that no team can stay 100% in tact from one year to the next. Every NFL team is forced to make tough decisions on who to keep and who to usher out the door. Because of that salary cap, there are always players who leave that make fans or the team very sad to see them go.
The Bears, like nearly every other team in the league is over the salary cap right now. this means that the Bears either need to cut, trade or restructure the contracts of some excellent players.
Right now the two biggest targets to be forced to leave the Bears are WR. DJ Moore and LB Tremaine Edmunds. Both of them are excellent football players and played a huge role in the Bears success this season. Edmunds in one of the fastest linebacker sin the league. That speed helped make up for the lack of skill of a lot of his fellow defensive players. Even though he was one of their best and most consistent defensive players, Edmunds is one of the few players they could trade who would actually free up cap space. Edmunds is owed $17.5 million next year. And there is no argument that he has earned that money. Unfortunately, if the Bears trade him, they will save $15 million on on the cap which means they can replace him with two players (and they need as many defensive players as possible). So it is basically inevitable that Edmunds will be dealt. In fact, just today, the Bears gave Edmunds to talk to other teams in an attempt to allow him to choose his next destination. That is pretty classy but it also means Edmunds does some of the Bears work for them. So thanks for the memories #49. You played well and did every thing the team asked... so put an egg in your shoe and beat it!
The more heart wrenching move will be seeing DJ Moore walk out the door after providing one of the most exciting Bears highlights in the history of the franchise. Just a few weeks ago he was a huge hero with the key to the city. He ran a perfect route and caught a long touchdown pass to beat the bears most hated rival... the Green Bay Packers. And he did it in the playoffs! Bears fans will be talking about that play as long as they live. And it wasn't just that play. DJ Moore was consistently a top performer on offense for the past three years. Even though he did not have eye popping stats, he was a reliable receiver who took pressure off of the rest of the team. He also blocked incredibly well this year. He too did every thing the team asked, played incredibly well and provided one of the greatest highlights in the history of the Bears organization... so of course he should make like a tree and get out of here!
The salary cap and the gymnastics it takes to work around it is so frustrating. DJ Moore belongs on this team and he has earned the $28 million the Bears owe him... but that doesn't matter. The Bears are willing to pay him, but they simply can't. He must be traded. Because of the bizarre way the salary cap works, the Bears need to wait until after June 1st to trade Moore. That way they will save $24 million on the cap. It is so frustrating that a team can't just pay players what they are worth. I don't want to see either of these guys go, but it is unavoidable.
So how about you? What guys will you be sad to see leave?