are we not supposed to get the 9 or 10 million from marcus hamilton credited to us when hes cut

jakewindsor88:

are we not supposed to get the 9 or 10 million from marcus hamilton credited to us when hes cut

It looks that way, but haven't "offically" added it yet, as it hasn't been announced, but will.. when they announce the real cap # for 2009 and "additions"

dbears54:

Forte All Day:

dbears54 --

Do you think that the Bears have enough cap room to get TJ Houshmandzadeh, Terrell Suggs and Vernon Carey? I think those 3 would cost between 17-19 mill is that about right? 

Maybe they even have enough to add Atogwe or Jermaine Phillips as well if they restructure some right or am I reaching now?

maybe 2 of those 3 not all 3..

Suggs will probably be in the $50 million Category..( figure 7 mill- 8 mill + in cap space)

housh the $45 mill category( mostly because of berrian 42 mill last year and not much good wr's this year( so again 6.8-7.5 mill cap space)

carey id' say $28-35 million - which would be the 5- 5.5 million cap space

And you need to have esp this time fo eyar 4-5 million  "buffer" for june 1st cuts and camp injuries in case need to pick up a player if a big Cog goes down..

Too Bad Berrian didn't hit the century mark. The Bears have a  unique oppurtunity to really solidfy the O Line in the 2009 offseason.

Fans have to have faith that C Williams and J Beekman build an athletic left side until 2020. The transformation needs to come on the right side. I think Tait ahas a year left in him, but the savings can surely equal the 1rst season cap # for a top FA RT.

On the other hand, Duke Robonsion may be available at 18 and with the increased monies guards have cashed in with the cap increase why not take a possible Larry Allen type player 1/2 way through the 1rst. This way keeping Tait for another (contract) year next to Robinson my not be that bad. Garza and Hillenmeyer may be out of time but I do think they may tradable which IMO is one of JA 's strengths, even if he doesn't always make what seems to be the right decesion! It always take a couple seasons minimum. The Bears are in great shape and I would to see the Bears get 2 nasty rookie top 50 O Lineman in the 2009 draft. I would also love to see a safety and DE so I would xpect the Bears to trade down unless a can't miss DE-FS-WR stares them in the face at #18! Then expect a 2nd round trade down for sure.

It may be time to continue to take the best player available and Chris Williams will be a major addition with a rare season of seasoning so to speak for the Bears. I think it will only help the transition of a 2nd and 3rd year LT-LG combo opposite a potentially young right side of the O Line.

Creating a young O Line with the possibility of Duke Robinson maybe even a Phil Loadholt if they get crazy enough.

Another Tailback is a definate must and IMO much more important than the ovehyped #1 wr. The Bears have Hester-Olsen-Forte to get the ball to not to mention R Davis can be effective in the slot or surely as a situational #4. Lloyd cab be the man at times and nada at others. Give him another 1 year deal and it can only help.

The great thing is that the Bears need a handful of players and between the draft, free agency and even trades I think the Bears are close enough the even garner even attention to become preseason favorites by the end of the offseason.

The Bears can get real strong up front on the O line on Day 1 of the draft or they can go defensively with DE-FS etiher way they can go th other way in free agency so IMO we are on great shape.

WR may have to be and second tier guy and may not be Houz, Boldin or C Johnson who would be the worse bc the Bears have the chemistry it seems to spread the wealth. More and more balls are going to come to Hester and Olsen upwards to 80 apiece. and Forte should continue to grab ~50 a season so yes the bears offense will possess the ball longer and sustain longer drives the weopnary exists for the most part.

A true #1 will cause all sorts of problems unless he is home grown, has the right character, ect. That will take soem time but adding another player similar to Hester's skill set would be intriguing to say the least.

But we have to settle up the O Line into a legit strength for years to come. Orton-Forte-Olsen-Hester will only grow stronger with a O Line insurgence. The defense will return to form soo after bc they will be on the field less and have their own improvements. Our guys had a down year but its not like the bears didn't play nail biting exciting games in 2008. A couple games like ATL and Tampa go the other way and who nows the Bears may still be playing, but the Forte injury was huge and would hurt maybe it's a blesssing in disguise.

The Bears have a QB who is very smart and his timing will get better with a full offseason as the #1 another experience Kyle has yet to endure.

I think it may be time to add a big back to the system, Hopefully their is a ahidden gem Turner has his eyes on, like a Jacobs or even MClair type player. Of course this player will have to be capable in pass protection as well as receiving out of the back field and thats great IMO now lets find him and add him to a 2nd year Forte and 34rd year Wolfe who IMO has proven he needs a shot in the regular season as a situaltional RB.

Anohter outstanding preseason from Wolfe and Turner might have little choice but to give the kid a chance and get him 5 touches a game all while preserving Forte which is imperitive...

OK Later guys

Go Bears!

Wouldnt it be nice for once to see the bears make a BIG splash in the offseason and go get a couple big names. I am not a fan of how the Redskins do business, but The Bears are the polar opposite. Go get Edwards, go get Warner, go get somebody. Put a team together that gives you a real reason to think they can win, not just hope. For once spend some money and see what happens.

..

Basanez excited about opportunity with Bears

By Bob LeGere |

 

 

Two days after the regular season ended, general manager Jerry Angelo said the Bears were "fixated" on getting the quarterback position stabilized.

On Tuesday, they made their first off-season move at that position, signing Arlington Heights native Brett Basanez to a two-year contract.

First Move off offseaosn, i'd expect the contract details later..

So, how does Basanez count against the cap as far as what year? Is part of his deal on the 2008 and 2009 books or 2009/2010? I know FA doesn't start for a few weeks which has me wondering. It would also make sense as to why he would sign a 2 year deal since we'd be near the end of the year and that'd give him a full next year.

---

Wins - @GB, @Seattle, Detroit, @Cincinnat, Cleveland,
Philadelphia, St. Louis, Green Bay, Minnesota, @Detroit

Losses - Pitt, @Atlanta, Arizona, @San Francisco, @Minnesota, @Baltimore
Prediction: 10-6(Best/Worst case +/- 1)

beckdawg:

So, how does Basanez count against the cap as far as what year? Is part of his deal on the 2008 and 2009 books or 2009/2010? I know FA doesn't start for a few weeks which has me wondering. It would also make sense as to why he would sign a 2 year deal since we'd be near the end of the year and that'd give him a full next year.

2009 and 2010, actually think the deadline for 2008 is late nov..

BTW salary is as expected the minimum's,,( still do not have if any signing bonus)

Basanez, Brett
View information related to ' Basanez, Brett ' on NFLPlayers.com
Player Info	Draft Info
QB (#)	Year: 0
Chicago Bears	Round: 0
Fort Mill, SC	Position: 0
Salary History
2009 385000.00 2010 470000.00

Some NEW CAP RULES FOR 2009

The sides have plenty of time to work out a deal, because the CBA doesn’t expire until after the NFL draft in April 2011. However, if the deal isn’t finished by the start of free agency in 2010, then that season will be uncapped and new rules drastically will reduce movement in free agency. Most importantly, a player won’t be eligible for unrestricted free agency until he’s served six years in the league instead of the current four years.

More relevant this offseason, though, is that several arcane cap rules have changed and make it harder for teams with limited cap space to push money into future caps when signing and releasing players. Among them:

♦ Teams can prorate new signing bonuses over only five years instead of six.

♦ The June 1 rule for signing-bonus acceleration of released players no longer applies. So, regardless of when a player is cut this offseason, the rest of his unamortized signing bonus accelerates to the ’09 cap.

♦ Most notably, a player can receive only a 30 percent pay increase from 2009 to 2010. This prevents teams from signing a free agent this spring with a small payment this year and then guaranteeing him huge money in 2010, where there is no cap.

Those rules changes will make tough maneuvering for teams close to or over the projected cap, such as the New York Jets ($12 million over if Brett Favre returns), New Orleans ($6 million over), Indianapolis ($5 million over) and Washington ($5 million over).

: What is going to happen to Nathan Vasher? I read quite a bit anymore about the Bears' need for another quality cornerback due to the unknowns about Corey Graham as a regular starter and the unknowns about whether Vasher will return to form after two consecutive seasons ended on injured reserve. Obviously, if Vasher returns to form, that will be great, but what happens if he doesn't? Will the Bears keep him, trade him, cut him or do something else with Vasher? If he's traded, what do you think he'll be worth in return? If he's cut, which I'm guessing is unlikely, I'm sure that will count against the salary cap, but how much?

Andrew B, Parts Unknown

A: This has been a popular question recently and Andrew's is just one of many we have received on Vasher. Some have suggested he's on shaky ground this offseason. I don't see how.

That doesn't mean there is a starting job waiting for Vasher, necessarily, but he certainly figures to be in the mix in 2009. The Bears have paid for Vasher's services. Cutting him now, after two injury-riddled seasons, would be short-sighted no matter how frustrating the experience may have been for the organization. Why unload a player you've already paid? They've paid him $15,654,560 over the last two seasons. Get rid of him now and that money is really squandered. The Bears need to see if Vasher can return to form, and they're certainly looking for him to do so.

A right hand injury limited him to eight games last season. He underwent surgery following Week 4 and the was knocked out for the year when he reinjured the hand at St. Louis Nov. 23. This came on the heels of his 2007 season when a serious groin muscle tear kept him out of 12 games. Vasher was reinserted in the starting lineup in the middle of last season after missing three games even though Corey Graham had performed well in his absence. The sentiment at the time was that Vasher was a former Pro Bowl performer and a veteran who wasn't going to lose his job to injury. He's not in jeopardy of losing his job to injury now. He'll have a full opportunity to win a starting spot in the offseason.

The economics of cutting Vasher don't make sense either. He received an $11.5 million signing bonus with his five-year extension in the summer of 2007. Because 2010 is slated to be an uncapped year, the Bears couldn't spread out the remaining amortization of the signing bonus over two seasons if they cut him. They would be on the hook for the remaining $7,666,664 all at once, on their 2009 books. Subtract out his base salary for this coming season of $2.9 million, and you're looking at a cap hit of $4,766,664. The Bears have plenty of cap space for this season, but that's a lot of dead money for a player who is only three years removed from being a consistent, top performer.

Vasher has a base salary of $2.9 million this season, $2.95 million in 2011, $3.45 million in 2011 and $3.7 million in 2012. If he's a quality starting cornerback, those are numbers the Bears can live with easily. That's the point. They already bucked up for Vasher and now they're going to wait to see him buck up on the field.

Getting rid of Vasher doesn't make sense for another reason. It's not like the Bears are loaded with depth here. If Charles Tillman is moved to free safety, a possibility that doesn't seem to want to go away, then they're down a corner. Cut Vasher and then they're down two corners. He's got to at least go to training camp and prove what he can do. Then the club can begin to make judgments.

just more FYI on all the cap #'s since camp was instituted..

year... cap limit... percentage growth

2008 116.7 million(  6.4% growth)

2007- 109  milliion (  6.8% growth)

2006- 102 million( 18 % growth- but revenue changed to 64% from 59 under old cba)

2005- 86 million( 7.5% growth)

2004- 80.8 mill( 7.7% growth)

2003- 75 mill  ( 5.6 growth)

2002-  71 mill(  5.9% growth)

2001- 67.4 ( 8%  growth)

2000-62.1 (  6.9%)

1999- 58.3 ( 11%)

1998- 52.3( 25%- NEW TV CONTRACTS)

1997- 41.5( 2%)

1996 40.7( 9%)

1995 37.1 (8%)

1994- 34.6

MartyB. goodbye!

marc a. we need ya man! Izzy got size get an attitude and your welcome. Olin can stay but if there is a good c. in the draft give him 1 yr. Pat mannely havent done much lately, still good special teamer-c-ya. Danny Mann. stay! Adewale orton ridea jamar are woth the keep depending on the price. The rest can go! 

Marty booker cut saves $1,000,000 salary and creates $750,000 of dead space for his unamrotized signing bonus

John tait retires, saves 4.8 mill salary,  $500,0000 unamortized bonus( $ 3 mill/6 years)

Has he officially decided, or is he still mulling it over?

username1:

Has he officially decided, or is he still mulling it over?

every indication is he is calling it quits ,but not "official" yet

Wow, sorry to see him go but happy to see some young guys with potential come in.

username1:

Wow, sorry to see him go but happy to see some young guys with potential come in.

Yep, he's a warrior, but not the same player as even 2006... and respect him even more than mnay athelte's that woudl try and take teh money, evn though know "done"... he's wiling to hang it up before the end.. wish alot more would do this.

I'm just wondering how this all works. if the bears say cut Hunter Hillenmeyer would there be a cap hit or would you only save money? I'm really wondering because I'd want to know what the cap savings or hit would be if we cut: R. Davis, Hunter Hillienmeyer, Terrence Metcalf, Dusty Dvoracek, and Garret Wolfe. And is it better to cut a guy like Ogunleye or restruct his deal? Sorry about all the questions and thatnks for keeping us all posted.

JSew2:

I'm just wondering how this all works. if the bears say cut Hunter Hillenmeyer would there be a cap hit or would you only save money? I'm really wondering because I'd want to know what the cap savings or hit would be if we cut: R. Davis, Hunter Hillienmeyer, Terrence Metcalf, Dusty Dvoracek, and Garret Wolfe. And is it better to cut a guy like Ogunleye or restruct his deal? Sorry about all the questions and thatnks for keeping us all posted.

Anytime you trade or cut a player( works the same for cap purposes), you have to take ALL his unamortized signing bonus into that years cap.. So for instance if a guy signed a 4 year contract and got a 4 million Signing bonus, he counts 1 mill/year against the cap for his signing bonus, but let's say in year 2 you decide to cut him, you would save his salry, but take a cap hit of 3 million( 3 years X $1 mill).

hunter:

6/29/2006: Signed a five-year, $13 million contract extension through 2011. The deal included a $5 million signing bonus. 2009: $1.5 million, 2010: $1.7 million, 2011: $1.8 million, 2012: Free Agent

So  you would take a 3 mill cap hit for his signing bonus- 1.5 mill saalry or a 1.5 mill cap hit

r davis:

4/23/2008: Signed a three-year, $3.87 million contract. The deal included a $1.1 million signing bonus. Another $2 million is available through escalators based on receptions. 2009: $765,000 (+ $400,000 roster bonus), 2010: $935,000, 2011: Free Agent. Cap charges: $1,181,667 (2009), $1,351,667 (2010).

so you are basicalle ven on davis, take a 733,000 cap hit for the uamortized bonus( 366,000X2) and save his 7650,000 salary or save $32,000

 

 

Dollars and sense: The Basanez contract

dbears54:

Dollars and sense: The Basanez contract

By

Brad Biggs

on February 16, 2009 11:19 AM

Unless the Bears make a move for a quarterback in free agency, and the crop of available passers has already dwindled, then there is a growing chance Caleb Hanie and recently signed Brett Basanez will battle for the backup job behind Kyle Orton. The only way a rookie would get in the mix is if the Bears spent a high draft pick on a quarterback and given the draft class and the team's other needs, that could be viewed as a longshot at this point.

Basanez signed a two-year contract to come home. The Carolina Panthers wanted him to return and he had interest from other clubs, including the New York Giants, but the lure of returning to his roots and the Bears' depth chart made Halas Hall the most attractive destination.

Basanez did not receive a signing bonus in the contract but the Bears did float him a little money in the form of a workout bonus. He can earn $17,280 if he meets criteria in the contract for the incentive. He has minimum base salaries for 2009 ($385,000) and 2010 ($470,000). Basanez's workout bonus in 2010 is the standard amount of $7,280.

WOW WIITH THOSE THREE WE SHOULD SEE OUR  OPPONENTS JUST SHAKING IN THEIR CLEATS!!!!!!!!!

Bears tender offers to exclusive rights free agents Roach, Hamilton