adam Posted February 16, 2013 Report Share Posted February 16, 2013 Ok, so I tried to obtain the current cap hits for 2013, project some other moves with estimated cap hits and I came up with this: http://www.pcgamingtech.net/bears/cap.htm Unless I am totally off, we would have 7 roster spots to fill and have spent around 123M. With the cap being around 121, and with us having around 3M carried over from last year, we should have around 124M to spend. With the rookie pool needing to be around 5M, it is hard to see us getting to 116-119M before the draft with only the rookies left to sign. Can you check out the link and let me know if anything looks crazy. My scenario has the Bears re-signing Melton with a 5M cap hit this year, signing someone like Nate Collins to rotate in as a DT, re-signing Urlacher and Roach, DJ Moore, McCown, and Allen, signing Bushrod, and re-signing Louis. This scenario also assumes cutting Hester, Spaeth, and Davis to save some cap space. This leaves us with 7 open roster spots and very little cap space. Hypothetically, we could not re-sign Urlacher, and would be at 119M with 8 spaces, 5-6 filled in the draft, and 2-3 league minimum guys signed, which would work money-wise, barely. Tillman and Marshall both seem like possible candidates for extensions and cap reductions for this year. Peppers 16M cap hit really hurts this year, but there is not much they can really do in that situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scs787 Posted February 16, 2013 Report Share Posted February 16, 2013 The cap is something I really don't know about but this looks about right. No James Brown? He's a cheap guy with some upside to add depth to the line. That leave 6 open spots with 5 that can potentially be filled in the draft and one cheap FA/UDFA (Maybe a project QB Marc likes). Not really a fan of bringing Urlacher back....I wouldn't hate it due to sentimental value but I think it's time to move on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stinger226 Posted February 16, 2013 Report Share Posted February 16, 2013 The cap is something I really don't know about but this looks about right. No James Brown? He's a cheap guy with some upside to add depth to the line. That leave 6 open spots with 5 that can potentially be filled in the draft and one cheap FA/UDFA (Maybe a project QB Marc likes). Not really a fan of bringing Urlacher back....I wouldn't hate it due to sentimental value but I think it's time to move on. Urlacher is going to want 4 to 5 mil. , we can get a better player for less. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam Posted February 16, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2013 Yeah, I can't see any scenario with Urlacher coming back if the Bears want to get a FA OL and re-sign Melton. The only way would be if he would take $3M or less, or is someone else restructures their deal to save a couple of million this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZ54 Posted February 16, 2013 Report Share Posted February 16, 2013 Urlacher is going to want 4 to 5 mil. , we can get a better player for less. Where or who? I'm a fan of Ogletree but I don't view him as better than Urlacher right now. Who is on your list of better/cheaper list? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Hochuli 3:16 Posted February 16, 2013 Report Share Posted February 16, 2013 Where or who? I'm a fan of Ogletree but I don't view him as better than Urlacher right now. Who is on your list of better/cheaper list? Ogletree is a 21 year old with fresh legs and a fresh body. Like Urlacher coming out, he is a converted safety. He is fast, strong, and instinctive. There is no way he is not better than Urlacher if Urlacher plays the way he did in 2012. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stinger226 Posted February 16, 2013 Report Share Posted February 16, 2013 Ogletree is a 21 year old with fresh legs and a fresh body. Like Urlacher coming out, he is a converted safety. He is fast, strong, and instinctive. There is no way he is not better than Urlacher if Urlacher plays the way he did in 2012. The key here is we have limited funds to spend, we need to spend them on improving the offense. At 2 mil, we can accept Urlacher at a less productive state. He will be mediocre. Did anybody think Ray Lewis played a good super bowl, he might have been a leader but his play was bad. We need a new OL, TE, a speedy WR, at some point we have to fix the defense on the fly, keeping Urlacher doesnt make sense at what he will want, and I believe the powers that be will decide the same thing; not us. I loved Urlacher, but cant do a Lovie and hang on to the past when he simply wont be close to the same. At 2 mil sign me up, if not on the cheap, then start fresh. Jerry and Lovie are gone its time to move forward not sideways. We can get an average FA for less and get the same out of him. OR draft a LB in the second round and run with him for the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Hochuli 3:16 Posted February 16, 2013 Report Share Posted February 16, 2013 The key here is we have limited funds to spend, we need to spend them on improving the offense. At 2 mil, we can accept Urlacher at a less productive state. He will be mediocre. Did anybody think Ray Lewis played a good super bowl, he might have been a leader but his play was bad. We need a new OL, TE, a speedy WR, at some point we have to fix the defense on the fly, keeping Urlacher doesnt make sense at what he will want, and I believe the powers that be will decide the same thing; not us. I loved Urlacher, but cant do a Lovie and hang on to the past when he simply wont be close to the same. At 2 mil sign me up, if not on the cheap, then start fresh. Jerry and Lovie are gone its time to move forward not sideways. We can get an average FA for less and get the same out of him. OR draft a LB in the second round and run with him for the future. Last year, Kendall Wright was the 20th overall pick and got 4 years, $8.2m. I'd take Ogletree at that over Urlacher at 1 year, $2m. I love Urlacher but it's time to move on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mongo3451 Posted February 16, 2013 Report Share Posted February 16, 2013 Last year, Kendall Wright was the 20th overall pick and got 4 years, $8.2m. I'd take Ogletree at that over Urlacher at 1 year, $2m. I love Urlacher but it's time to move on. I'd love both at 2mil each. Let Ogletree play outside, while Urlacher shows him how to run the D. We can replace Roach later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scs787 Posted February 19, 2013 Report Share Posted February 19, 2013 ChiTribSports @ChiTribSports Bears operating with $10.5 million in cap room I wonder if that just doesn't include the 3M that carries over or whatever. I still thought the 3M would turn into giving us 16M so who knows. Another nugget worth noting out of the Trib article.... For example, if the Bears converted $9 million of his base salary to a bonus payment, they could reduce his cap hit for this season by $6 million. That's a pretty good chunk of change. Here's the whole article... http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/footb...0,6988743.story Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam Posted February 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2013 I wonder if that just doesn't include the 3M that carries over or whatever. I still thought the 3M would turn into giving us 16M so who knows. Another nugget worth noting out of the Trib article.... That's a pretty good chunk of change. Here's the whole article... http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/footb...0,6988743.story I saw this as well about Forte: The Bears could gain some cap relief by restructuring the contract of Matt Forte, who is due a $4 million roster bonus on March 16. Converting that into a signing bonus spread over the three remaining seasons of Forte's contract would save the Bears over $2.6 million in 2013. $2.6 million is a big chunk just by converting a roster bonus into a signing bonus. I don't think they are including the carryover money, and they are not assuming we are cutting Hester, Davis, and Spaeth, as well as a bunch of other league minimum contracts that can reduce the cap another couple of million. The true number is a lot higher than $10 million, because if $5 million is needed for the rookie pool, then we would not even have enough to re-sign Melton. -- EDIT -- Ok, I re-did the spreadsheet http://www.pcgamingtech.net/bears/cap2) with all the current contracts of the top 45 players (assuming we need room to sign rookies and FA's). The last contracts were all league minimums with no guarantees, so they won't count against the cap anyway. I come up with $110.8 Million without including any dead money from old contracts, and I also did not include the carry over from last year. That is where most are getting this $10 million from, but with cuts, the carryover, and possible restructuring, we should have over $15 million just for free agents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scs787 Posted February 20, 2013 Report Share Posted February 20, 2013 Biggs responded to me and the 10.5 does include the 3.2 leftover money....Ouch...Emery has some work to do. @BradBiggs does this include the 3.2 in left over money that PFT talked about here http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/...ments-for-2013/ … ? @Beasthart Yes. That is adjusted figure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam Posted February 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2013 Biggs responded to me and the 10.5 does include the 3.2 leftover money....Ouch...Emery has some work to do. That is sort of misleading, because it is based on the top 51 contracts: http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/chicago-bears/cap-hit/ but not all of those are guaranteed, especially the guys at the bottom of the roster. If you cut some of those guys because you need the roster space, cut Spaeth, Davis, and Hester, that is around $8-9 million extra in cap space. If they restructure any other contracts, you can add a couple of extra million moving the cap space over $20 million. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balta1701-A Posted February 20, 2013 Report Share Posted February 20, 2013 That is sort of misleading, because it is based on the top 51 contracts: http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/chicago-bears/cap-hit/ but not all of those are guaranteed, especially the guys at the bottom of the roster. If you cut some of those guys because you need the roster space, cut Spaeth, Davis, and Hester, that is around $8-9 million extra in cap space. If they restructure any other contracts, you can add a couple of extra million moving the cap space over $20 million. Certainly seemed like last year, the Bears got to roughly the amount that they supposedly had available and then were still able to sign a number of additional people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stinger226 Posted February 20, 2013 Report Share Posted February 20, 2013 That is sort of misleading, because it is based on the top 51 contracts: http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/chicago-bears/cap-hit/ but not all of those are guaranteed, especially the guys at the bottom of the roster. If you cut some of those guys because you need the roster space, cut Spaeth, Davis, and Hester, that is around $8-9 million extra in cap space. If they restructure any other contracts, you can add a couple of extra million moving the cap space over $20 million. Actually if we drop those three we only lose 6.4mil in cap space. We create dead cap money on what yearly bonuses they may have left.So as o f now before we restructure any contracts, we have we have 17.3 and then take out around 5 mil in rookie money that leaves us 12.3 to spend. If we keep Melton as say 6 mil(low side) that leaves us 6.3 to spend. NOT MUCH LEFT TO DO MUCH. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam Posted February 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2013 Actually if we drop those three we only lose 6.4mil in cap space. We create dead cap money on what yearly bonuses they may have left.So as o f now before we restructure any contracts, we have we have 17.3 and then take out around 5 mil in rookie money that leaves us 12.3 to spend. If we keep Melton as say 6 mil(low side) that leaves us 6.3 to spend. NOT MUCH LEFT TO DO MUCH. On my first try, I included the dead money for the 3 big cuts, but there was an additional 2.5 million in cuts to bottom of the roster guys who will not count on the cap when we draft players and sign guys like Melton, Louis, and Roach. If we cut Davis, Spaeth, and Hester, with some of the bottom of the roster guys we should have a little over $15 million for Free Agency and still have $5 million for the rookie pool. In the $15, we can re-sign Melton, Louis, and Roach, and probably a FA OL. Don't forget there will be a bigger jump in cap space in 2015, so teams may backload some contracts to relieve some pressure this year and next year and push some of the costs to 2015 knowing there will be more space. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BearFan PHX Posted February 20, 2013 Report Share Posted February 20, 2013 I miss LTC2 or whatever his screenname was - he was better at the cap figures than anyone on any television show or in any newspaper. Where'd he go? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LT2_3 Posted February 21, 2013 Report Share Posted February 21, 2013 I miss LTC2 or whatever his screenname was - he was better at the cap figures than anyone on any television show or in any newspaper. Where'd he go? Still around. I'd jump in if anything important needed to be pointed out. We're in decent cap shape and will probably be able to do anything we need to. If we franchise Melton, things get tighter. I think the biggest opportunity for cap savings is to extend Tillman and get his cap number down. I don't think we should restructure Peppers because it would just make matters worse. Also, as for the cap supposedly going up in 2015, that's not set in stone as there are conflicting reports in the media. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stinger226 Posted February 21, 2013 Report Share Posted February 21, 2013 On my first try, I included the dead money for the 3 big cuts, but there was an additional 2.5 million in cuts to bottom of the roster guys who will not count on the cap when we draft players and sign guys like Melton, Louis, and Roach. If we cut Davis, Spaeth, and Hester, with some of the bottom of the roster guys we should have a little over $15 million for Free Agency and still have $5 million for the rookie pool. In the $15, we can re-sign Melton, Louis, and Roach, and probably a FA OL. Don't forget there will be a bigger jump in cap space in 2015, so teams may backload some contracts to relieve some pressure this year and next year and push some of the costs to 2015 knowing there will be more space. The problem is we may cut some of bottom of the roster players but have to replace them with somebody. Until they do the contracts, we dont have the back loaded contract money. We need to be realistic, I wish we had more money but we dont. If I got it right we carry (with the practice squad) 53 players. The cap is listed with the top 51 contracts.We have 61 players signed at this time according to Rotoworld. We might keep a 440 th guy instead of 700 th, but we cant count on that until that happens. When I first put a offseason together I spent to much money, if we want to play fantasy football, then we can pretend,but I prefer to be realistic and then add the more money as we get it and adjust the projection accordingly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scs787 Posted February 21, 2013 Report Share Posted February 21, 2013 We really gotta hope Melton takes a backloaded contract. A franchise tag or giving him what he deserves is really gonna hurt us Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stinger226 Posted February 21, 2013 Report Share Posted February 21, 2013 We really gotta hope Melton takes a backloaded contract. A franchise tag or giving him what he deserves is really gonna hurt us He is the key to all that we do this offseason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BearFan PHX Posted February 21, 2013 Report Share Posted February 21, 2013 Still around. I'd jump in if anything important needed to be pointed out. We're in decent cap shape and will probably be able to do anything we need to. If we franchise Melton, things get tighter. I think the biggest opportunity for cap savings is to extend Tillman and get his cap number down. I don't think we should restructure Peppers because it would just make matters worse. Also, as for the cap supposedly going up in 2015, that's not set in stone as there are conflicting reports in the media. Awesome! I feel better now! hahaha Thanks dude! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bears4Ever_34 Posted February 21, 2013 Report Share Posted February 21, 2013 I said this before, but I'm not going to really be all the upset if we let Melton walk in order to sign offensive lineman or someone else in free agency. I like him, but I don't think he is the best Defensive tackle that he claims to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stinger226 Posted February 21, 2013 Report Share Posted February 21, 2013 I said this before, but I'm not going to really be all the upset if we let Melton walk in order to sign offensive lineman or someone else in free agency. I like him, but I don't think he is the best Defensive tackle that he claims to be. I agree, if the paycheck gets too expensive, we can get someone decent for a couple of mil. An example would be Gleen Dorsey/DT from KC. He has been bad in a 3-4 but was a high draft pick and would fit the inside rush taclke spot positively. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam Posted March 15, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 15, 2013 I updated my cap page with the latest numbers: http://www.pcgamingtech.net/bears/bearscap.htm Looks like we have just under $8 million in cap space (which includes roll over money). Without it, we have about $4.8 million available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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