Thread: Roster Bonuses May Allow From Some Cap Recovery.......

There isn't a whole lot to be gained here but if the Bears aren't gonna restructure the bigger more costly deals at least they can gain a few mil by eliminating and/or reducing some of these costs.

1) Forte's roster bonus gains the most ground. By paying it as a SB if possible they can take $1.5 mil against the cap this year and spread the other $3 mil over 2014 and 2015 @ $1.5 mil each year.

2) Speath has already reduced his salary significantly and even just as a blocking TE he's worth his cost if he's the kind of guy Trestman can use. Davis on the other hand is waaaay overpaid based on his performance so we can either cut him and gain $1.15 mil or ask him to take a $1 mil salary cut and we accomplish the same thing cap wise. That's not to say we don't look for another TE but if we aren't lucky enough to find one we can afford in FA it allows us to keep him around until preseason.

3) Other than the above there isn't much to be gained. Toe is already a cheap backup to Paea and if we cut him he'd need to be replaced so he's worth keeping at least through preseason to see if anyone beats him out.

So all together there may be $4 mil to be had with most of that coming from paying Forte in a different manner if it's doable. Other than that they're gonna need to bite the bullet and restructure some deals or cut some players.

maybe it's just me but I still think we made a mistake signing Forte to that contract. RB isn't the position to pay that much money anymore unless you have a AP28 or Arian Foster

Originally Posted by GermansbombedPH

maybe it's just me but I still think we made a mistake signing Forte to that contract. RB isn't the position to pay that much money anymore unless you have a AP28 or Arian Foster

Yeah G sure we did, LOL. He's a top ten back and he got a top ten deal. End of story and besides it's in the past. He was last year and Melton is this year and you don't think we should pay him either do you? Those guys are the young stars of the team.

They were bargains for their first four years and have built themselves into Pro Bowl level players so of course you have to pay them. That's how it works. Besides we got Forte for a whole lot less than AP and Foster got so you can't even compare his deal with theirs. It's not even close to that kind of money.

Melton is one of the emerging stars of that defense and a top five DT so you have to pay him like one too. Here you go. This article says it as well or better than I can. Take a gander.

Henry Melton critical to Chicago Bears' future success




By Ryan Wooden, Tuesday at 1:25 pm

With the franchise tag temporarily taking care of Pro Bowl defensive tackle Henry Melton's future as a Chicago Bear, Phil Emery and the rest of the front office are setting their sights on the free agent market and next month's NFL Draft. However, while the tag does guarantee we'll see No. 69 in navy blue next season, it prolongs the inevitable conversation of Melton's long-term future with the franchise, and that should worry you as a Chicago Bears fan.
It worries the hell out of me.


Unlike last season, when Matt Forte's contract proved to be a headache leading all the way into camp, don't expect the 26 year-old Melton to take issue with collecting an $8.45 million salary in 2013, even coming off of a career year. However, with Henry Melton making a name for himself as one of the NFL's most disruptive three-technique's it'd be nice if the Bears could lock in a deal with the pillar of their interior before that price continues to rise.


In some regards you can understand the general skepticism. Melton did slow toward the end of last season after a blistering start where he racked up 4.5 sacks in his first five games, and ideally you'd like to see how he fits into new defensive coordinator Mel Tucker's system. But, as long as the Bears are in the 4-3, you simply can't allow a premium three-technique to slip through the cracks.


Melton was a project coming out of college as a former running back at the University of Texas who grew into a defensive tackle's body, but now he's become one of the best interior pass rushers in the League. He gives the Bears’ defense push in the 'B' gap, which goes a long way toward deepening drops and allowing guys like Julius Peppers and Corey Wootton to take more direct routes to the quarterback.


At this point, Melton is clearly in the upper echelon of interior defensive lineman in professional football, and that certainly justifies the franchise tag. However, if you have the opportunity to extend a productive 26 year-old, AND you can potentially lower his cap number while doing so, you have to do it.


I certainly understand why Emery's focuses are elsewhere. This franchise is in limbo—trying to both rebuild and sustain their current success—so the NFL Draft and Free Agency present more pressing issues at the moment. However, I hope the conversation circles back around to Henry Melton sooner than later.


Melton's value is paramount not only for all the reasons I've already mentioned, but with the core of the Chicago Bears’ defense aging quickly, Melton is a potential cornerstone of this unit moving forward. Along with Wootton and Shea McClellin and Stephen Paea, these guys have an opportunity to anchor a new era of Bears’ defense as we see Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs go by the wayside in coming years.


As the Bears move into that next phase and away from the Urlacher/Briggs era, the young talent on the defensive line should be a strength. But, that all starts with Melton in my eyes, and that's why it's critical for Emery and Marc Trestman to re-sign him as quickly as possible.


Henry Melton may be overshadowed at times by names like Urlacher, Peppers, Briggs and Tillman right now, but he's an essential part of the Chicago Bears' future success.

I know about his strenghts and what he offers... I just think he isn't worth 8.5 Million FOR US. Not the way it is. If he restructures his contract and we get a lower Cap Hit and salary on average, I would be all over it. Paying your young DT is worth it. He's just not 8.5 million worth this upcoming season.

I still think Forte got more than he is worth. I still think RBs can be found and ending up with 1000+ yards isn't that hard to end up with these days. RB shouldn't be paid like that UNLESS you have a AP or Foster.
I'm against paying injury prone RBs Top 10 money when they are barely Top10 RBs. That's what I'm saying. That was all on Angelo. He should have extended his contract before Forte was in a contract year while being the only good player on offense that isn't Cutler.

I would go as far as saying that we've seen the best of Forte already. He isn't about to enter his prime years, he already is in his prime years.

Davis's cap savings is actually 2.5mil soul. he has a 3.85mil cap hit - 1.35mil dead money.
Good catch on Fortes roster bonus. That would save 3mil as each of the remaining 3 years would count 1.5 against the cap.
Hester s/b an immediate cut to gain an additional 2mil. So if they only do these 3 moves, they would add 7.5mil to the existing 3.5mil giving them 11mil to spend at the beginning of FA. My immediate FA prioritiy would be to go land a FA OL and TE. Then I would sign Roach to an inxpensive or 3 year deal because he wont be in demand and can play mlb/slb for us. As I stated earlier, Izzy is a luxury we cant afford or I would put it - Izzy or Urlacher.

Originally Posted by GermansbombedPH

I know about his strenghts and what he offers... I just think he isn't worth 8.5 Million FOR US. Not the way it is. If he restructures his contract and we get a lower Cap Hit and salary on average, I would be all over it. Paying your young DT is worth it. He's just not 8.5 million worth this upcoming season. (G he's worth what you have to pay him in order to keep him until you can come to an agreement on a longer term deal. So far we haven't paid him one red cent but when you tag a player that amount is guaranteed so it must be subtracted from the cap as soon as you apply the tag. Emery and Stein will work to to get him signed and reduce his cap hit before the season begins if it can be done and I believe it can. If not then he plays for that amount. It is what it is. Just as with Forte the the length of the deal and the structure will be bigger sticking points than the amount which will be in the $40 mil range give or take 10%)

I still think Forte got more than he is worth. (I don't and if you believe that you'd be in a very small minority. He got exactly what he was worth and maybe less because we had all the bargaining power.)

I still think RBs can be found and ending up with 1000+ yards isn't that hard to end up with these days. (And if you'll pardon the expression and not take it personally I think you're full of shit, LOL. It's not JUST 1000+ yds rushing G. He's also a top notch receiver and blocker and one of the best all around RBs in the NFL. He also produces over 1500 total yards a year for your offense and that kind of back is harder to come by than you think it is or the NFL would be full of them. Forte is the overall best RB we've had since Neal Anderson and he retired around 20 years ago!)

RB shouldn't be paid like that UNLESS you have a AP or Foster. (Do I need to repeat myself? He isn't paid anywhere near the kind of money AP or Foster get!!!! Foster deal averages over $1 mil a year more than Forte's, it's a year longer, and he's guaranteed $20.8 mil vs Forte's $13.8 mil. You couldn't even get close to signing an Arian Foster for what Forte agreed to much less AP. AP's guaranteedmoney ($36 mil) is more than Forte's entire contract ($30.4 mil) and it averages a little over $13.7 mil per year vs Forte's $7.6 mil per year. Forte and Bush combined don't cost us what AP costs Minny! So can we just drop this argument. You're waaaaaaay off base with you're thinking as far as how much Forte is getting compared to those two.)

I'm against paying injury prone RBs Top 10 money when they are barely Top10 RBs. That's what I'm saying. (And what you're saying is based on what? It can't be an in depth knowledge of Forte's career stats. How injury prone is a RB whose only missed 5 starts out of 80 games in his entire career and 4 of those were in 2011? He's even played an entire season when he wasn't 100% and over his career he's averaged better than 4.2 ypc and over the past three years over 4.5 ypc. He consistently gains 1500 yards per year of total offense, averages 7 tds per year and doesn't fumble often. Ok your turn. Now you go research the NFL player stats and find me a half dozen or more RBs who've done all that over the past 5 years if they're a dime a dozen as you seem to think.)

That was all on Angelo. He should have extended his contract before Forte was in a contract year while being the only good player on offense that isn't Cutler. (What's on Angelo? It was Emery who gave him his current contract. So Angelo should have extended this RB you call injury prone before his deal was up and pay him what? They had been talking since camp in 2011 but there was a lockout remember, so he couldn't extend him before then because nobody could get any deals done until the lockout was over in August. Then he was injured in the KC game and missed 4 games so that pretty much ended any negotiations after November. So there were attempts made to extend him before his contract expired!)

I would go as far as saying that we've seen the best of Forte already. He isn't about to enter his prime years, he already is in his prime years. (None of us have an idea of whether that's true or not so this is no more than your opinion. He's only 27 years old and RBs are still considered in their prime until they reach age 30. He's always been highly productive in an offense that's used both his running and receiving skills. Tice overlooked the receiving half last year so those stats were the worst of his career but even missing one game and running behind a crappy line in a crappy offense he had his second best year in rushing yards gained since his rookie year.)

G we're all entitled to our opinions but you really should base them on some facts and you haven't. I know you haven't been around the forums for years like many of us have but at least do some research on Forte and the backs you compare him to before you form those opinions. Most of this stuff is so far off base that it's ridiculous.

Matt Forte is a solid top ten RB and probably a top five all around RB when you take his receiving and blocking skills into consideration as well. He was very poorly used last season because when he is used properly he's a huge big play threat when he's on the field. Now that Trestman is running the offense I expect Forte will have some of his best years yet to come.