Bears & NFL Talk LXV: Kraft's a John & Parkey is cut

[BK]

How the f*** does the NFL salary cap work? I am so confused.

 

[piteus]

How the **** does the NFL salary cap work? I am so confused.

You can restructure contracts and balance the cap over the life of the contract by transferring parts of the base salary to a signing bonus. Or you can just extend the contract by years.

 

[BK]

You can restructure contracts and balance the cap over the life of the contract by transferring parts of the base salary to a signing bonus. Or you can just extend the contract by years.

I get that but do signing bonuses no count against the cap?

 

[Illinihockey]

I get that but do signing bonuses no count against the cap?

You spread them out over the years of the contract.

 

[BK]

You spread them out over the years of the contract.

Interesting.

 

[piteus]

I get that but do signing bonuses no count against the cap?

Yes ... but they can be balanced out over the LIFE of the contract. As long as you don't cut or trade player, you can smooth the cap.

For example, the Steelers had a dead cap hit of $21mn for trading Antonio Brown this year. It accelerated his signing bonus to be recognized at once. If the Steelers kept Brown for the life of the contract, the signing bonus would have been spread out over 3 more years.

The NFL can do this because not all contracts are guaranteed like the NHL and NBA.

 

[RayP]

RE: Bell

Doesn’t he want a long term contract? I can’t imagine we can clear up cap space to sign him long term, right?

One year deal great, but I don’t want to lock him up for 4-5 years or whatever.

 

[Duck Off]

Interesting.

Pace has his issues/weaknesses but he’s very good at handling the cap.

Short summary for NFL contracts is you can make them easier to handle now but where they’ll hurt you more later (dead cap term is used a lot. This is that). With how much and quickly the salary cap rises, it’s the smart thing to do honestly.

 

[BK]

Yes ... but they can be balanced out over the LIFE of the contract. As long as you don't cut or trade player, you can smooth the cap.

For example, the Steelers had a dead cap hit of $21mn for trading Antonio Brown this year. It accelerated his signing bonus to be recognized at once. If the Steelers kept Brown for the life of the contract, the signing bonus would have been spread out over 3 more years.

The NFL can do this because not all contracts are guaranteed like the NHL and NBA.

Thank.

How much better will the Bears offense be with Bell (and Robinson being further away from his ACL)?

 

[Illinihockey]

RE: Bell

Doesn’t he want a long term contract? I can’t imagine we can clear up cap space to sign him long term, right?

One year deal great, but I don’t want to lock him up for 4-5 years or whatever.

He's 27, he probably has 3-4 great years left in him

 

[HawksBeerFan]

Thank.

How much better will the Bears offense be with Bell (and Robinson being further away from his ACL)?

Like, a ton.

He's a perfect fit for Nagy.

 

[b1e9a8r5s]

RE: Bell

Doesn’t he want a long term contract? I can’t imagine we can clear up cap space to sign him long term, right?

One year deal great, but I don’t want to lock him up for 4-5 years or whatever.

I would think he'd want at least 2-3 years guaranteed at big money

 

[RayP]

Why would they have signed that other RB with Cohen on the roster and then go and get Bell too who is going to demand a ton of touches?

Bell doesn’t add up the more I think about it.

 

[HawksBeerFan]

Why would they have signed that other RB with Cohen on the roster and then go and get Bell too who is going to demand a ton of touches?

Bell doesn’t add up the more I think about it.

Mike Davis has 234 career carries in 4 seasons.

 

[b1e9a8r5s]

I don't think they are going to get Bell, but I don't think Davis precludes them from doing that. Davis is a guy who could be a starter in a pinch or a nice depth RB.

 

[RayP]

Mike Davis has 234 career carries in 4 seasons.

Didn’t they sign him to a $6M deal? That’s quite a bit for a guy to have less than 5 touches a game.

 

[b1e9a8r5s]

Didn’t they sign him to a $6M deal? That’s quite a bit for a guy to have less than 5 touches a game.

2 years, 6 mil, 3 per.

 

[HawksBeerFan]

It does seem strange they'd sign him for $3 million/year and then get Bell, but I don't think it means they won't get him.

 

[RayP]

It’s not like they signed that other guy a month+ ago either. If that were the case then sure I could maybe see the argument.

 

[HawksBeerFan]

Well they're clearly making a play for someone. Only other guys that would make sense are Earl Thomas and Justin Houston. Not sure either of those make sense either.

 

[TheSting]

RE: Bell

Doesn’t he want a long term contract? I can’t imagine we can clear up cap space to sign him long term, right?

One year deal great, but I don’t want to lock him up for 4-5 years or whatever.

Yep. Don't see any chance Bell coming here. He held out to be one of the highest paid running backs in the league with job security (he was whining about the yearly franchise tag). Pace can try to sell him on joining a winning program but the Steelers were winning too. No doubt about it, #fakenews

 

[piteus]

Thank.

How much better will the Bears offense be with Bell (and Robinson being further away from his ACL)?

There is no doubt Bell fits Nagy's offense. Bell's patience at the line is legendary. He's the perfect back for a zone blocking scheme which the Bears currently use. Think Terrell Davis when he ran for 2000 yards.

Bell is also the best receiving back in the NFL. That's why he wanted to be paid like a receiver than a back. He has great hands and runs routes like a receiver.

Here are Bell's issues:

* He wants a long term deal. The Bears have important FAs to sign in the future.
* He smokes a lot of pot. He's already been suspended. It's a risk.
* He gained a ton of weight in the off season.
* He is a character which could rub some teammates the wrong way.
* He already tore his ACL 3 years ago.
* He has significant miles on his body at 27 even with a year off.
* Most RBs start slowing down dramatically in their 5th season as a starter.
* Most teams do not use a lot of their cap space for RBs. It's not smart.

The Bears could be going for it this year in Trubisky's window (contract). I think it's a short sighted move for a 27 year old RB with attitude issues for $15mn/year. That's just my opinion.

 

[TheSting]

Bears just opened up 11 million in cap space this year as Khalil Mack agreed to restructure his contract. Uh oh, maybe Bell is coming, lol!

https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/b...il-mack-cap-space-nfl-free-agency-leveon-bell
Source: the Bears have created $11M of cap space by converting $13M of Khalil Mack's base salary & roster bonus into a signing bonus. Chicago positioning itself to make moves if desired...

 

[Blackhawkswincup]

Why would they have signed that other RB with Cohen on the roster and then go and get Bell too who is going to demand a ton of touches?

Bell doesn’t add up the more I think about it.

Bears need a primary back

Cohen is not every down back and the guy they signed is strictly a backup

 

[Blackhawkswincup]

I would like Justin Houston as a vet LB for this team who can get to QB to rotate in with Mack/Floyd on outside

Frankly I would prefer Houston/Mack as starters with Floyd rotating in as Floyd has struggles to get consistently after QB and allows teams to double Mack