The Chicago Bears will have a lot of tough decisions to make in the coming weeks, especially as the team is low on available cap space at negative $4 million according to OverTheCap.com.
“We’ll go back in the bunker here after a couple weeks and we’ll assess where we can get better,” head coach Ben Johnson said. “That’s our commitment to each other. That’s our commitment to this organization is that we’ve got to continue to clean up where we can find little edges that make us a little bit better over the course of the season. So that’s what we’ll do.”
Oftentimes, when a team is under the cap, cutting a player who has a high salary is the only solution. This might be the case for Chicago, with 13 players having a cap hit above $8 million in 2026, leading the Bears to have to cut at least one player.
And according to Chicago Tribune senior writer Brad Biggs, linebacker Tremaine Edmunds could be that player.
Bears Could Cut Ties With Linebacker Tremaine Edmunds
GettyTremaine Edmunds #49 of the Chicago Bears celebrates after an interception against the Dallas Cowboys during the fourth quarter at Soldier Field on September 21, 2025.
Edmunds, who signed a four-year, $72 million deal with Chicago back in 2023, could be on the chopping block.
“Going off the cuff, five days after the season ended, Edmunds looks like someone who could be caught in a jam,” Biggs wrote. “Releasing him would clear $15 million in cap space.”
Last season, Edmunds enjoyed a solid year, racking up 112 total tackles, one sack, and four interceptions. The 27-year-old linebacker has appeared in 45 games over the past three seasons with the Bears and has been an anchor at LB, but with the emergence of LB D’Marco Jackson, who could be re-signed on a way cheaper contract, it might be in Chicago’s best interest to cut Edmunds and free up $15 million in cap space.
If not Edmunds, there could be other potential cut candidates, according to Biggs.
Other Potential Bears on the Chopping Block
Edmunds hasn’t been on many Bears fans’ minds, but someone else has.
Wide receiver DJ Moore, who tops the Bears’ cap hits in 2026 with $28.5 million, has been the topic of conversation. You can cross out cutting him, because the Bears won’t have any cap savings by releasing Moore. The only way he’s not on the roster next season is if Chicago trades him.
“If the Bears pursue that angle, I doubt they would get a whole lot back in return because Moore has a $23.485 million base salary, per-game roster bonuses totaling $765,000 and a $250,000 workout bonus,” Biggs wrote. “So an acquiring team would be looking at paying him $24.5 million in 2026. Again, they’d have to find a trade partner, but the way the contract is structured, it could be a one-year rental.”
It seems like a difficult situation to navigate with Moore, and Johnson reaffirmed his trust in him.
“We had a really good exit interview, and he’s a player that I felt really helped us get to the point where we were this year. We had an opportunity there a couple games away from the Super Bowl, so I thought he was a huge contributor to getting us there.”
Besides Edmunds and Moore, there’s one more player who could be in the conversation of getting cut, according to Biggs.
“Does the conversation become a little more nuanced after [T.J.] Edwards — who got a new contract last offseason — broke his fibula in the wild-card victory over the Green Bay Packers?”
Well, Edwards signed a two-year, $20 million extension back in April and has been everything the Bears could ask for up until he suffered a nagging hamstring injury and a season-ending fractured fibula.
He’ll be 30 by next season, so there could be a conversation about Edwards not being on the roster. Either way, general manager Ryan Poles and the rest of the Bears’ front office will have a lot of tough decisions to make this offseason.
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