3 Bears That Could Be Cut or Traded If Salary Cap Drops in 2021

The Chicago Bears were one of the most disappointing teams of 2019, missing the playoffs due to a stagnant offense and inconsistent play. However, if the Bears struggle again in 2020, they might be in trouble due to their salary cap situation.

With the COVID-19 pandemic damaging NFL revenue, teams might have less money to work with in the 2021 offseason. The Bears have glaring holes on the roster and a number of key free agents, so they might need to make some tough choices. Here's a list of three players that could be cut or traded in 2021.

1. Jimmy Graham, TE

At 33 years old, Graham is now an elder statesman of the NFL, and he was given a two-year, $16 million contract in the 2020 offseason as part of Matt Nagy's plan to have as many tight ends as possible. Graham is aging and not nearly as effective as he once was, but he's still a serviceable veteran. However, Graham will only have a $3 million cap hit if he's released next season, and the Bears clearly want big things from second-round tight end Cole Kmet in the future. Graham could easily become a cap casualty in 2021.

2. Nick Foles, QB

After Nick Foles missed much of 2019 with injury, he was traded by the Jacksonville Jaguars to the Chicago Bears. As part of the deal, he agreed to a restructured contract that is laden with obscure clauses and incentives. But if Foles doesn't perform in 2020, the Bears might be willing to eat some dead cap money and move on. If he reaches some of his incentives, however, the new contract states he can elect for free agency in 2021. Foles' contract is a tricky one to analyze, but he's no guarantee to be with the team beyond next season.

3. Buster Skrine, CB

Buster Skrine's first year with the Chicago Bears didn't go as planned. After signing a three-year, $16.5 million contract through 2022, Skrine only started four games and wasn't particularly good when he was on the field. The Bears don't really have the flexibility to be paying that much to a backup cornerback. Notably, Chicago has an out after this season, and unless Skrine turns it around, he might not be back with the team in 2021.

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Tristan Jung is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Tristan Jung also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username tristan1117. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.