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Bears salary cap position, past spending, helped facilitate big trade for Chiefs' Joe Thuney

Originally posted on Chicago Bears on SI
By Neal Coolong | Last updated Mar 5, 2025 10:31 AM ET

One advantage to not having spent much on a roster in the NFL the previous season is that team should have plenty of cash for the next season. Set with an obvious team need for offensive line help -- something the Chicago Bears addressed recently with the acquisition of Rams' interior OL Jonah Jackson -- the Bears had loads of cap space to find likely three starting offensive linemen.

Enter Joe Thuney into the mix. Jackson is perhaps a little less solid, given his injury history and poor play in limited action last season, but Thuney has been an outstanding all-around lineman for the Patriots and most recently, the Chiefs. Kansas City had him at left tackle due to injuries elsewhere, and perhaps it's safe to say his long-term use will be along the interior.

And all of this was done by March 5, and the Bears still have around $50 million in cap space leading into the legal tampering period, which begins March 8.

Thuney is scheduled to make $15.5 million this season, and Jackson is set to make $17 million, the two moves, which cost Chicago a 6th round and 4th round pick in 2026, respectively, the Bears have two of the three starters they needed locked up, largely because they could afford to pay a premium for them without sacrificing draft capital of major significance.

The Rams wanted to shed salary. Perhaps the Chiefs did as well. Their dollars have to go longer than the Bears' do, so the advantage rests in the Windy City. It isn't advisable to choose to not spend each year, but when a lower spending season is done to build up capital in order to take advantage of the market, the way Chicago is doing early in 2025, ground can be made up in a hurry.

Not every team in the league can land two starting offensive linemen by spending only one pick in the next draft. Chicago has done that, and now can proceed fully with their initial draft plans, having greatly reduced the pressure to rebuild their interior offensive line.

This article first appeared on Chicago Bears on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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