Chicago Bears 2026 Mock Offseason
Here is my first simulated offseason for the Chicago Bears as we are just a few weeks away from the start of NFL free agency. I used the facsinating new website “StickToTheModel” to conduct this simulation. I will leave a link to the site below, it truly is highly addicting as an NFL junkie.
Link: https://sticktothemodel.com/teams/be-a-gm
Roster Cuts
LB Tremaine Edmunds (+$14.9M)
This was without a doubt the easiest move to make. As much as I like Edmunds as a player, clearing up that $15M in cap space had to be done due to the Bears being over the cap.
Contract Restructures
G Joe Thuney (+$7.4M)
ED Montez Sweat (+$9.8M)
I really tried to limit the amount of restructures I did because it just creates more money problems in future years. But Thuney and Sweat both have no more than 2 years left on their deals so I essentially just made their salaries more back heavy which gave me around $17M more to work with this year.
Contract Extensions
TE Cole Kmet (+$4.0M)
I get that the Bears likely now have their star TE of the future with Colston Loveland, but I still think that in a Ben Johnson offense, having two reliable and quality tight ends worked wonders for them in 2025. So I decided to add an additional 2 years to Kmets current contract, which gave me a little bit more cap which was actually more helpful than I thought it would be.
Trades
Traded WR DJ Moore to BUF for 2026 2nd Rd Pick (#60)
Yes, I did attempt to trade for Raiders star pass rusher Maxx Crosby but I couldn’t get a deal that I considered to be realistic to work. Regardless, I still think that there is a fair chance that Moore ends up being traded, even if it doesn’t include Crosby. So, I sent him to Buffalo in exchange for their second round pick this year. This trade also cleared up over $20M in cap space from Moore’s contract.
Free Agency Signings
ED Trey Hendrickson (1YR/$18M)
LB Nakobe Dean (3YR/$50.1M)
Resigned S C.J. Gardner-Johnson (2YR/$20.2M)
Resigned S Kevin Byard (1YR/$7.8M)
To make up for not being able to land a trade for Maxx Crosby, I went and made two splashes in FA by signing Trey Hendrickson and Nakobe Dean, along with resigning veteran safeties Kevin Byard & C.J. Gardner-Johnson to cheap, short-term deals. Hendrickson is the one free agent that I think the vast majority of Bears fans want to go after assuming they don’t trade for Crosby. He is coming off of an underwhelming 2025 season in which he only totaled 4.5 sacks albeit in just 7 games. But at 31 years old I think he would be a perfect addition to Chicago’s front seven on a short-term deal, even if the $18M price tag is a bit hefty.
3-Round Mock Draft
(Rd1Pk25) DL Kayden McDonald (Ohio State)
(Rd2Pk57) S AJ Haulcy (LSU)
(Rd2Pk60) ILB Josiah Trotter (Missouri)
(Rd3Pk89) OT Trey Zuhn III (Texas A&M)
I decided to only do the first three rounds for this mock draft because I haven’t finished doing my research on the mid to late round prospects. But I went heavy on the defense again with the first three picks, starting with a run-stuffer in the middle of the d-line with Kayden McDonald out of Ohio State. I also went ahead and addressed the Bears short-term issue at left tackle since Ozzy Trapilo, who emerged as a rookie in the second half of last season, suffered a grusome leg injury in their playoff victory against the Packers. But that was about the only area of offense that I touched in this entire process, outside of trading away DJ Moore.
Final Summary
Cap Space Summary
Original Ammount of Cap Space: -$4.1M
Cap Space Created (from cuts, restructures, trades, and extensions): $66.1M
Free Agency Spending: $52.6M
Dead Money: $2.4M
Final Cap Space Remaining: $6.9M
The website gave me an A- grade for these moves which I actually found somewhat surprising. I tried my best to not create too many future cap space problems while still being able address their deffensive needs which includes landing some splash players in FA with Trey Hendrickson and Nakobe Dean. Let me know your thoughts on this outcome and what changes you think should be made to it.
