Tarik Cohen Still a Bears Bargain After Big Raise

Running backs, receivers, defensive and offensive linemen among the most underpaid producers for Bears heading into 2020

With a salary cap squeeze on and the Bears looking for ways to come up with cash, good bargains on a roster are appreciated.

There are bargains on their roster, but as players age the lower-salaried players gradually disappear.

The Bears are sitting at about $13 million in cap space at the moment as they try to restructure contracts to free up more space in order to take care of their own free agents and pursue free agents.

There are five relative bargains on their roster for this season who they can say are helping them afford higher-priced players at the moment.

We all know that Tarik Cohen is explosive. When you can give this guy some space, he can make some big plays. On a screen pass where Tarik is given space like this, good luck stopping him. A great block by @TGdadon1 gives Cohen that space down the field. ✌️✌️ #Bears pic.twitter.com/AywyflwIRp

— Dan DeYoung (@CoachDanDeYoung) June 16, 2019

Tarik Cohen

Cohen was a downright steal before but his payment just shot up. He just received the $2.14 million hike this year as a fourth-year player who hit the proven performance escalator, but still is a huge bargain at $2.3 million this year considering he made less than that over the course of his entire first three seasons ($2.15 million). He scored more touchdowns (15) than any current Bears player since coming into the league in 2017 and is their leading receiver in that period with 203 receptions.

Eddie Jackson

How can Jackson rate on the list after signing a four-year, $58.4 million deal? The contract was structured in a way to cost the Bears only $3.7 million of cap space this year. In 2021, forget it. By making 10 interceptions, five fumble recoveries, four fumbles forced and six touchdown returns in three seasons, Jackson has been their biggest defensive play maker over three years. Two straight Pro Bowls and he's only taking up $3.7 million this season makes him a colossal bargain, probably 1B if Cohen is 1A, or maybe he's 1A and Cohen 1B.

David Montgomery

You'll find most starting running backs in the NFL are huge bargains these days, with the way the position has become undervalued. Backs should form their own union and pressure the NFL Players Association to get special provisions in the CBA because they're undervalued greatly in their first contracts, then often judged too old to carry the ball when they hit their sixth seasons. Montgomery was never expected to carry the ball 242 times last year and had to do it. The idea was for shared carries with another back involved besides Cohen and Montgomery. It never happened. He's only taking up $985,000 of cap space this season.

Anthony Miller

If Miller picks up from where he left off after recovering from his second shoulder surgery, he could eventually challenge Allen Robinson as their most dependable receiver. The trend is up with 33 and 52 receptions at a 12.7-yard average over his first two seasons. He made 11 starts and with Taylor Gabriel's status uncertain, it could go up in 2020. All this and Miller is still on his first contract at a $1.46 million cap hit for the year.

James Daniels

He's still below $2 million for cap space in his third year and last year played every snap on offense, even if they weren't sure which spot he should be playing, guard or center. Despite constant scrutiny of the guard-center setup after he swapped positions with Cody Whitehair and then flipped back, Daniels had the highest score from Pro Football Focus of all Bears offensive line starters and in two years has allowed only one sack. He had just two penalties accepted last year, too.

Bilal Nichols

As a fifth-round draft pick, Nichols costs the Bears only $735,000 in his third year and after the season his total hit for his career won't yet be at $2 million. With 18 starts, three sacks, six tackles for loss and 55 tackles overall Nichols would have been even more productive his first two years if not for a broken hand that probably limited him for more than half of the 2019 season. Because of Nichols' rapid development, the possibility of losing Nick Williams or even Roy Robertson-Harris in free agency seems lessened a bit.

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