adam

We just won an extra game by this move.

I have to assume we draft a G in the first or second. It will be a really interesting draft if we re-sign Urlacher and Roach. We wouldn't have to use the first 2 on LB either and could go OL and WR or CB.

The Pats use Gronk and Hernandez pretty effectively, even with Welker getting a ton of targets. So I see Bennett as the primary TE, and Rodriquez getting moved around a lot. For Bennett on the Cowboys, he was stuck behind the Romo Witten love fest.

It has to be the First Round pick, I can't see them waiting until the 2nd to address it if we don't re-sign him. I still figure he comes back for a 2 year deal.

Wow, you got the positions spot on, but the players wrong. Really close, and the $7 cap hit is almost the average annual salary for Bushrod, so you were sort of correct there as well. Looks like Bennett got 4/20, so again, pretty close, about 1.25 million off per year. The combined cap hit for this year is under $6 though, so that is nice. Nice work Terra.

Looks like GB is hot on Steven Jackson, that would be a huge upgrade over what they've had recently.

True, but I almost like Bennett more than Olsen at this point. Bennett is 2 years younger, slightly bigger, and I believe he is a better blocker.

I can't see Miami trading up when they have more holes than Swiss cheese. Also, will Reddick last until the 5th? I thought he was more of a 3/4th rounder.

Great signing, even better than getting Cook.

If Bushrod's is only 3 mil, then Bennett's should be less than that. So I suspect both cap hits will be under $5.

Bush was also 15th in the league for RB's in Rushing 1st Downs (28). Forte was 10th with 45. I believe that Bush compliments Forte pretty well, but don't think they were both used to the best of their abilities last year. Hopefully Trestman and Kromer can get more out of them.

Brother shadiness. Let the conspiracy theories begin.

Shocker, I know.

Either Emery is a genius and there will be a bunch of restructure/extensions coming before 3pm tomorrow, or we are going to get hammered in free agency with little to no activity. So I am hoping we will start hearing news soon. Let's go Brian, what's the scoop? I need some Free Agency predictions from what you have heard from your sources to date.

This looks like it could work out great for both teams or fail miserably. Seattle could get the last piece they need to be a truly potent offense and improve their return game while Minnesota frees some cap space and gets an extra first round pick. On the flip side, Harvin might not work in Seattle, especially with his salary demands, and there already seems to be some issues in Minnesota with key players questioning the move.

the bigger news out of Denver is the cutting of Caleb Hanie......

Sorry, you are correct, I was using those terms loosely. Definitely don't want to end up like the Steelers.

Yeah, but those cap hits are not guaranteed money. Right now he has dead money of 9.5 million on his 16.1 cap hit. So if we cut him this year we would be on tap for the 9.5 and only save about 6.6 million. I doubt the Bears do that. However, next year, his dead money is down to 6.3 even though his cap hit goes to 17.1. So cutting him next year would save 10.8. Then if you get to 2015, his dead money is down to 3.183 and his cap hit is 19.6. Cutting him would save 16.4 million. With so little in guarantees, all they have to do is extend him one-year, give him a little more in guarantees (signing bonus) and shave a couple million off each year's cap hit. This would decrease the cap hits and leave some dead money on the back end of his deal if they decide to cut him later. Win win for everyone. Peppers gets more guaranteed money and the Bears get smaller cap hits with both parties knowing he will more than likely not make it to the last year of the deal anyway. Now if they don't believe in him long term, then he will more than likely be cut next year for the 10.8 million savings.

When we could possibly draft one (Jones) in the 2nd for a lower cap hit? I'll pass.

I would rather have it be quiet with no leaks than a bunch of info getting out and we miss out on some guys. You have to expect to see some restructures and extensions executed on Monday because teams can't exceed the cap once the new league year starts. So it would be hard to sign guys with no cap room.

Quinton Patton, from Louisiana Tech, had a great Senior Bowl.

Not necessarily. They are just converting the same money they were going to pay him anyway to lessen the impact on a single year. Also, the cap is expected to go up considerably in 2015, so they just have to make it work the next 2 years.

Yeah I know, but for almost $3 million a year, and new management.

Then we go TE or LB. I doubt we go WR in the 1st, but if we were going WR, Austin would be the logical pick.

That's where I came up with these numbers: http://www.talkbears.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=8836 Bush would cost more to cut, so he is staying. I would say the possible cap casualties would be: Davis, Hester, Gould, Bennett, Spaeth, and Webb Possible Restructures/Extensions: Peppers, Cutler, Marshall, Melton, Tillman, and Briggs