Cap-Sound Bears Set Up For Justin Fields Deal

Where the Bears stand against the salary cap for extension this year still, and for a possible Justin Fields in the future.

It's not easy to assign a value to what the Bears get from Justin Fields as the focal point of their offense and team in general.

Fields' contract doesn't expire until after 2025 but Spotrac.com has projected his average annual value as he enters Year 3 and the fifth-year option is due next spring. Fields' market value is set by Spotrac.com at $41.2 million a year.

If the Bears could get him an extension now averaging what Spotrac.com projects then they could be making a steal. Provided they believe he is worth investing the future of the franchise in, this type of cash is going to be middle of the pack for QBs within a very short time.

For example, the shocking 10-year extension Patrick Mahomes received in 2020 averages $45 million a year and now is only seventh highest among QBs. 

GM Ryan Poles expressed surprise over being asked about an extension for his QB when meeting with media last week.

"You hit the fast forward button," he said. 'Yeah, I mean, again, I’ll just generically say, progress, I can’t tell you how many boxes need to be checked (by Fields). I always think, your gut instinct is always going to be a part of decision-making as well.

"So all of the above. You’re looking for progress to feel good about it and also to watch the tape and get a feel for a guy if he can take you to that next level.”

They need to see more, but it could be a costly look. Fields might want to see a good deal more cash from them in the future considering how fast those deals become outdated.

If Fields got $41 million as projected, it would put him ninth on the quarterback pay list, just below Justin Allen and just ahead of Dak Prescott and Daniel Jones, who recently received a $40 million extension. Matthew Stafford is also at $40 million.

The Bears are set up well for the future to pay Fields regardless. 

According to Overthecap.com, the Bears have the second-most cap space available next year at $89.45 million behind only New England. They are second in effective cap space for 2025 at $159.2 million, behind the Patriots. For 2026, they are seventh at $224 million.

This year will be critical for Fields in two ways: First for the fifth-year option and then for the type of progress a team needs to see in order to jump right to an extension before the deal ever gets past the fourth year.

Spotrac also has values projected for other Bears who will hit the marketplace after this season and are in need of extensions.

Darnell Mooney is the highest of those, which might explain why he hasn't been locked up yet. The market value is $14.9 million per year, and at that price the Bears may need to see more evidence he is where he had been prior to the injuries last year.

Another player they project seems to have a low figure and that's Jaylon Johnson, at $7.8 million a year. This could be part of the reason Johnson is talking about the need to get more interceptions. He has just one for his career, although it is obvious it's going to be difficult for him to get a higher number when he's being asked constantly to be the cornerback covering the other team's top receiver. This means his job becomes about stopping the receiver and not getting the ball.

No value is assigned to Chase Claypool, whose deal expires after this season. At this point, he is the great enigma. He didn't perform last year at the same level he did his first two years. Then the trade set him back in the Bears offense. He took part in only one week of on-field work during the off-season due to injury, then went out in training camp with an injury just when he seemed to be making headway and establishing a real connection with Fields. He's likely to be one of the players on the injury list for the game when it comes out on Wednesday afternoon. It's a situation so fluid there is almost no way to set any type of contract projection.

Some players the Bears signed to one-year deals are on Spotrac's projection radar. One is edge rusher Yannick Ngakoue at $14.8 million a year.

According to Spotrac, the Bears are at $15.5 million in cap space for this year, which is eighth most available.

Poles continues to take the same approach toward those extensions.

“We’re taking that kind of week by week," he said last week. "I really don't want to get into it. It kind of creates a distraction for the entire year.

"We like those guys. We'd love to have them here long-term, so we'll just kind of stick with our plan."

They don't have the kind wiggle room under the salary cap with which to undertake fool-hardy spending sprees but definitely possess enough to get at least one player locked up for the future while still possessing cash necessary to sign roster help in case of injuries.

Bears 2023 Salary Cap Additions

(Since training camp)

DE Yannick Ngakoue $10.4 million

TE Marcedes Lewis $2 million

G/C Dan Feeney $1.2 million

QB Nathan Peterman $1.09 million

DE Khalid Kareem $1.01 million

WR Trent Taylor $940,000

S Quindell Johnson $750,000

*Cap totals per Spotrac.com

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