Although a report indicated Tremaine Edmunds was drawing trade interest, the Bears will not end up unloading this contract as they will D.J. Moore‘s. Chicago will release Edmunds, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports.
The Bears will save $15MM by making this move. Between the Moore trade and Drew Dalman‘s retirement, the Bears will create (h/t ESPN’s Field Yates) around $44MM in cap space. Of course, Chicago now needs a center. While Dalman’s retirement was stunning, the Bears looked set to move on from Edmunds for a bit now.
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Granted permission to seek a trade during the Combine, Edmunds will instead be moved off his lucrative contract. The Bears gave the former Bills first-round linebacker a four-year, $72MM deal that included a whopping $41.8MM guaranteed at signing in 2023. One of that year’s top free agents, Edmunds has been a key piece for Chicago’s defense over the past three years. But the Bears, who extended LB T.J. Edwards in 2025, will ditch this big-ticket deal and devote money elsewhere.
Edmunds was set to earn $13.9MM in base salary during the final year of his contract, with a cap number coming in at $17.5MM. The Bears decided they no longer wanted to carry that deal, one authorized before Ben Johnson‘s arrival. The Bears have used the Edmunds-Edwards tandem at linebacker for three seasons, but the team will need a replacement to play alongside the former Super Bowl starter next season.
Pro Football Focus graded Edmunds 35th overall among off-ball LBs in 2025; that came after two assessments outside the top 50. Edmunds, though, tallied 112 tackles despite missing four games. Only three of those were for loss, with the eight-year vet combining for just six TFLs over the past two seasons.
Although the coming season will be Year 9 for Edmunds, he is only 28. He played the 2018 campaign at age 20, being a full-season starter for the Bills. While Devin Lloyd is unlikely to be knocked off his perch as the top ILB available this offseason, Edmunds should still fare reasonably well on the open market. An $18MM-per-year windfall will not recur, but interest will emerge. Edmunds, 28 in May, does not need to wait until free agency opens Monday; since the Bears cut him, he passes straight to the market and can sign with another team immediately. The Bears did him a solid in that regard.
Entering the week over the cap, Chicago is expected (per OverTheCap) hold around $33MM in available funds soon. The Bears are set to save $10MM in 2026 cap space because of Dalman’s retirement, OTC’s Jason Fitzgerald adds. Chicago will be hit with a $4MM dead money charge due to the proration of Dalman’s $6MM signing bonus. The Bears could, however, aim to recoup that remaining $4MM of Dalman’s signing bonus. The team will hold the 2025 UFA signee’s rights in the event he comes out of retirement.