The Chicago Bears are liable to make some significant changes to the roster in the coming months, which could include parting ways with a two-time Pro Bowler who has been central to the defense over the past three seasons.
Alex Ballentine of Bleacher Report dubbed linebacker Tremaine Edmunds among the team’s top three salary cap casualties on Thursday, January 29.
“Edmunds barely makes the cut because of the role that he plays in the Bears defense. His athleticism in the middle gives the Bears a true threat to match up with tight ends and create some turnovers (four interceptions in 2025),” Ballentine wrote. “However, cutting Edmunds is the biggest cost-cutting move the Bears could make outside of restructures.”
Bears Could Restructure Tremaine Edmunds’ Contract Rather Than Cut Him
GettyChicago Bears linebacker Tremaine Edmunds.
Edmunds is heading into the final season of a four-year contract worth $72 million in total. He was among the biggest free-agent additions of Ryan Poles‘ early tenure as general manager in Chicago.
The linebacker arrived in the Windy City a couple of years removed from back-to-back Pro Bowl nods as a member of the Buffalo Bills. And while he hasn’t replicated those honors during his time in a Bears uniform, Edmunds is a team captain who helped hold together a shaky and injured defensive unit last year, as Chicago won the NFC North Division for the first time since 2018.
That said, Edmunds is entering his ninth NFL campaign in 2026 and will play next season at 28 years old. The Bears can save $15 million by cutting him, which would reduce their current cap deficit from $17.6 million close to a zero balance.
Edmunds missed four games due to injury in 2025, but played the full campaign two years ago and missed just two regular-season contests during his first campaign in Chicago. He finished ranked 34th out of 88 eligible linebackers last year, per Pro Football Focus’s grading system, which means the advanced metrics still consider him above-average at the position.
If Chicago wants to hold onto Edmunds, the team could reduce his cap hold by extending him on a new deal and restructuring the contract.
Bears Will Have Needs at Safety, on Defensive Line This Offseason
GettySafety Jaquan Brisker of the Chicago Bears.
An extension may make more sense, as Chicago needs to clear money but probably shouldn’t subtract from an already struggling defense to do so.
The Bears own seven picks in the upcoming draft and are likely to focus on improving the pass-rush and the interior of the defensive line on Days 1 and 2. There are also several potential openings in the secondary, particularly at safety, given the looming free agency status of Jaquan Brisker, Kevin Byard and CJ Gardner-Johnson.
It is unlikely the Bears completely turn over the safety position, but at least one — and possibly two — of those players is probably going to be playing in a different uniform come September.
Chicago picks at Nos. 25, 57 and 89 in April. And after using its top three selections on offense last season, it tracks that the Bears will use at least two of those three picks, if not all of them, to add young and inexpensive talent to a defense in dire need of it.
The unit struggled to rush the passer effectively all last season and also allowed 5.0 yards per rush to opponents, which is a combination Chicago can’t duplicate in 2026 and expect to have the same level of regular-season and playoff success.
$72 Million Former Pro Bowler Tops Bears’ List of Cut Candidates