Starting at 11 a.m. Monday, NFL teams are able to negotiate with agents of soon-to-be free agents. They can sign them starting at 3 p.m. Wednesday, when all teams must begin the league year under the salary cap.
The Bears are chasing a standout quarterback (and have been for 71 years) as well as a starting right tackle and safety. Their salary cap crunch, though, makes that a tough, and maybe impossible, ask.
Here’s a primer for their week ahead:
Cap space
This year’s salary cap is $182.5 million. With $7.5 million in rollover space from last year, the Bears’ ceiling is $190 million.