The Bears aren’t done adding to their roster this offseason, not by a long shot.
Yesterday’s blockbuster trade that sent the first overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft to Carolina in exchange for two first-round picks, two second-round picks and wide receiver D.J. Moore takes a bite out of the Bears’ salary cap, but not all that big a bite relative to how much cap space the Bears had.
Moore has a $19.965 million guaranteed salary this season and a $200,000 workout bonus. That gives him a $20.165 million salary cap hit for 2023, which is the highest cap hit on the Bears’ roster.
But the Bears entered this offseason with so much salary cap space that they still have more cap space than any other team. Counting Moore’s money, the Bears now have more than $75 million in cap space for 2023, easily more than the second place Falcons, who have $63 million in cap space. The Raiders are third with $44 million and no other team is over $40 million.
If Bears General Manager Ryan Poles uses that cap space wisely and drafts well, the Bears’ roster could be loaded with talent in 2023. Moore was the first big addition of the offseason, but he won’t be the last.