With all the cash being handed out by GM Ryan Poles in free agency, it’s easy to be worried about the Bears’ future with contract extensions due for Kyler Gordon and others.
It already looks as if they’ll need to restructure contracts of DJ Moore and Montez Sweat in order to get back salary cap space after the signings Monday of Dayo Odeyingbo, Grady Jarrett and Drew Dalman.
On Monday another concern came to a head and it involved other teams’ players.
The Bears need to be worried about cash in the future because of the contracts paid out to players at similar positions to their own players who are due extensions.
Gordon could expect to become the highest paid slot cornerback.
The Jaguars made former Cowboys free agent Jourdan Lewis the highest-paid slot cornerback ever with a three-year contract for $30 million and $20 million of it was guaranteed, according to NFL Network.
Gordon has a far bigger upside and is producing at a better level than Lewis. Gordon is only in his third year and Lewis is going into his ninth year. Gordon was graded 13th by Pro Football Focus among 116 cornerbacks last season, 16 spots higher than Lewis.
Gordon has seen a meteoric rise from 57th in PFF grade last year and has improved each year, while Lewis leveled off at a PFF grade regraded as average or below average for four straight years before he had good seasons in 2023 and 2024.
So the Bears have that big pay day to look forward to, and it’s questionable whether they’d have the ability this year to get it done while they’re handing out big contracts in free agency to players from other teams.
Another contract of concern is the two-year, $30 million deal the Chiefs gave tackle Jaylon Moore. He’s a backup tackle who never played more than 271 snaps in a season and averaged 206.5 plays a season.
The Bears could expect a much bigger contract for Jones if they choose to extend him. After all, he is a fourth-year starter who has been graded as high as 21st as a rookie and 22nd this past year among all tackles in the league. ESPN.com analytics had Jones fourth in the league among tackles at run-block win rate in 2024 and sixth in 2023.
The Bears are going to need to pay out the cash in the future and actually could have started on it this year with Gordon, but it will be interesting to see how much they can recoup in restructured contracts if they hope to keep around their slot cornerback.
Another key will be to watch the 2026 salary cap figure for them as it goes down as these contracts signed have been applied. They’ve consistently been among the higher teams for cap space but these contracts will take a bite out of that and make new contracts in March 2026 more difficult.