The Chicago Bears are going through massive changes this offseason and are ready to shed some salary to be an immediate threat in the NFC North. They announced that they had released All-Pro safety Eddie Jackson on Thursday afternoon, making him an unrestricted free agent. Jackson was under a five-year, $54.8 million ($22 million guaranteed) contract extension from 2020.
He was expected to make $14 million this season and the Chicago Bears save $12.56 million by making him a pre-June 1 cut. This makes the Bears have even more cap space and essentially become the team with the most cap space before free agency kicks off.
Eddie Jackson finished the 2023 season with 37 total tackles (32 solo, five assisted) with an interception and five pass deflections.
What does this mean for the Chicago Bears going forward?
The Chicago Bears are entering the 2024 offseason with a lot of decisions as they enter the 2024 NFL draft with six picks, including three in the top 75 selections. They will likely amass more draft capital if they trade away quarterback Justin Fields and select quarterback Caleb Williams with the first overall pick.
With a good amount of holes in their roster and a lot of cap space available, they could easily rebuild this roster and compete with the Minnesota Vikings, Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions in sneakily one of the toughest divisions in all of football.
Expect to see the Bears attack free agency hard and begin to step up as they create a potentially strong roster full of free agents and rookies. This team has some key core pieces that don’t seem too far away from contending for a playoff spot.
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