Where the Bears' roster stands heading into 2023
A year ago, new Bears general manager Ryan Poles took over a roster with his predecessor Ryan Pace's fingerprints all over it.
Pretty quickly, Poles set about dismantling it.
By January 2023, the Bears look nothing like they did at the end of the 2021 season. Poles and head coach Matt Eberflus tore it down to the studs. The Bears willingly ate tons of dead cap space in 2022 in order to clear the books for 2023 and beyond.
As a result, they have more available salary cap space in 2023 than any other team by a mile. They have few big-money contracts still on the books. Numerous Bears are set to become free agents in March. Poles will have to decide who he wants to keep and who he wants to let walk away.
Here's a full breakdown of where the Bears' roster stands heading into 2023. Contract status is from OverTheCap.com.
* - indicates a player is on a futures contract.
Under contract for 2023:
Quarterback: Justin Fields, Trevor Siemian
Running back: Trestan Ebner, Khalil Herbert
Wide receiver: Chase Claypool, *Daurice Fountain, Velus Jones Jr., Darnell Mooney, *Joe Reed, Equanimeous St. Brown, *Nsimba Webster
Tight end: *Chase Allen, Cole Kmet, *Jake Tonges
Offensive tackle: Larry Borom, *Kellen Diesch, Braxton Jones, Alex Leatherwood
Interior offensive line: Ja'Tyre Carter, Teven Jenkins, Doug Kramer, Lucas Patrick, Cody Whitehair
Defensive end: Trevis Gipson,*Gerri Green, Terrell Lewis, Al-Quadin Muhammad, Dominique Robinson
Defensive tackle: Jalyn Holmes, *Donovan Jeter, Justin Jones
Linebacker: *Kuony Deng, DeMarquis Gates, Jack Sanborn, Sterling Weatherford
Cornerback: Josh Blackwell, Kyler Gordon, Harrison Hand, Jaylon Johnson, Jaylon Jones, Michael Ojemudia, Kindle Vildor
Safety: Jaquan Brisker, *Adrian Colbert, Elijah Hicks, Eddie Jackson, A.J. Thomas
Special teams: Punter Trenton Gill, kicker Cairo Santos
Restricted free agents: (Bears have the option to match offers from other teams) running back Darrynton Evans, center Sam Mustipher, defensive tackle Andrew Brown, cornerback Breon Borders
Exclusive rights free agents: (if the Bears offer a contract at league minimum, these players cannot negotiate with other teams) guard Dieter Eiselen
Unrestricted free agents: QBs Tim Boyle, Nathan Peterman;
RB David Montgomery; FB Khari Blasingame; WRs N'Keal Harry, Dante Pettis, Byron Pringle; TEs Ryan Griffin, Trevon Wesco
OT Riley Reiff; OGs Dakota Dozier, Michael Schofield; DTs Angelo Blackson, Mike Pennel, Armon Watts; LBs Matt Adams, Elijah Lee, Nicholas Morrow, Joe Thomas; safeties Dane Cruikshank, DeAndre Houston-Carson; LS Patrick Scales.
Obviously, the list of potential free agents is long. Re-signing running back David Montgomery is almost certainly a priority. Poles has been clear that he loves Montgomery's style. The running back market in free agency is deep, which might make signing Montgomery easier for the Bears. He is likely the team's only potential target for the franchise tag. The franchise tag for a running back is going to cost an estimated $10 million in 2023.
Other priorities among unrestricted free agents might be fullback Khari Blasingame, linebacker Nicholas Morrow, safety and special teams ace DeAndre Houston-Carson and long snapper Patrick Scales. The Bears could bring back one receiver among N'Keal Harry, Dante Pettis and Byron Pringle, but they probably won't bring all of them back.
Among restricted free agents, the Bears will likely seek to bring back running back Darrynton Evans and center Sam Mustipher. They should also bring back guard Dieter Eiselen, who is an exclusive rights free agent, for depth on the interior.
The Bears will continue to pay dead money on the contracts of Robert Quinn, Danny Trevathan, Mario Edwards Jr., Tarik Cohen, Jeremiah Attaochu and Zachary Thomas this year.