Chicago Bears Q&A: What role could Morgan Moses fill on the offensive line if he’s signed? Are any more cap-related moves in store? Any rumblings on a contract for Allen Robinson?

With the Chicago Bears’ first set of organized team activities underway at Halas Hall, potential additions to and subtractions from the roster are on the minds of readers. Brad Biggs tackles their questions in his weekly Bears mailbag.

What do you make of the report the Bears will have Morgan Moses in for a visit? What role could he play if they sign him? — Ben D., Chicago

The Washington Football Team released Moses, 30, last month after signing former Bears left tackle Charles Leno. Washington is expected to start Leno at left tackle and rookie Sam Cosmi, a second-round pick, at right tackle. Moses started the last 96 regular-season games for Washington, and 95 of those starts came at right tackle. He was pressed into action at left tackle for one game last season, and his only start as a rookie in 2014 came at left tackle. So Moses has two more NFL starts at left tackle than the Bears’ entire current collection of offensive linemen. Washington didn’t need Moses at left tackle when he broke into the starting lineup because Trent Williams was in place then. Some believe he has the ability to play left tackle, but he’s definitely better at right tackle. If the Bears sign Moses, he probably would be in the mix at left tackle in the event the team doesn’t believe rookie Teven Jenkins is ready to play on the quarterback’s blind side. But Jenkins will be given every opportunity to nail down the starting job at left tackle.

Washington gave Moses an opportunity to seek a trade before releasing him, but he was due to earn nearly $8 million this season and there were no takers. He reportedly has visited the New York Jets as well, and I imagine he’s looking for an opportunity that gives him the best chance to earn playing time. The Bears have Germain Ifedi at right tackle and could consider Jenkins on that side as well if they don’t want to push him on the left side. Signing Moses to play right tackle doesn’t make a lot of sense for the Bears right now as they have options, but there’s no such thing as having too much depth on the offensive line. Signing him as a fallback plan at left tackle does make sense. How much money the Bears can offer remains to be seen, and we don’t know what other offers might loom for Moses, who could prioritize an option that gives him the clearest path to playing time. The Bears are tight against the salary cap and have been exploring the free-agent cornerback market as well. Certainly meeting with Moses and getting a good look at him is a good idea.

I think we all were surprised by the release of Kyle Fuller. Has the progress of Jaylon Johnson warranted that release so early in the year, and what are you seeing for him in turns of second-year improvement? — @Phastphil2

The release of Fuller was related more to his salary-cap hit than anything else. If the Bears weren’t pressed against the cap in March, they never would have cut ties with their best cornerback, creating the current situation in which they don’t know who will start opposite Johnson. That being said, the team felt really good about Johnson’s rookie performance and expects him to ascend into a legitimate No. 1 cornerback role. The media haven’t seen Johnson on the field yet this offseason, but the first open OTA is Wednesday so we’ll see. It was encouraging that he didn’t require surgery for the shoulder injury that sidelined him at the end of last season. Johnson’s future looks bright, but there are questions about the position when you look at the other starting job and the nickel spot.

Do the Bears start two rookie O-linemen? — @Ulysses_Quijano

That seems unlikely. Certainly after trading up to select Teven Jenkins in Round 2, the plan has to be to get him on the field as soon as possible. There’s a good chance he is in the starting lineup Week 1. Larry Borom was selected in the fifth round, and it might be best for him to get some action in preseason and then let him learn and develop. The Bears are pretty high on him and believe he has the ability to play tackle and guard, but they have plenty of more experienced options so they won’t have to push his timeline. The Bears will want to see what Borom looks like with pads on before they consider putting him in a spot to challenge for playing time.

I read an article where Bryce Callahan could be a causality cut in Denver. He would be a cheap add but has had some injury issues since leaving. — @copart49

That’s an interesting idea and Callahan likely would generate some interest on the open market if the Broncos let him go. Callahan had some durability issues with the Bears, a concern they had when he reached free agency and they didn’t match what the Broncos were willing to pay him. Callahan missed six games last season and was sidelined for all of 2019. He’s a crafty nickel when healthy. I tend to think the Bears’ goal right now is to add help on the outside. Nickel also remains a question mark, but adding competition on the outside is a greater need. Callahan can play on the outside but he’s best at nickel. The Bears have shown interest in free agent Bashaud Breeland, who might not be in a rush to sign. At this point, some of the veterans on the street who know they will find work are content to wait and see if a team suffers an injury and the need (and price) potentially goes up. Plus, those veterans don’t have to volunteer for a voluntary offseason program if they’re not under contract. Not a bad idea and I wouldn’t rule it out. Callahan stands as one of the best finds by general manager Ryan Pace in terms of undrafted free agents, and former Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio was motivated to sign him in Denver. Considering Fangio’s feelings for Callahan and his desire to be stocked at cornerback, I would be surprised if he was released.

Are the Bears going to play Cole Kmet more at “U” tight end this year to see if he’s the future there? — @TheBearBrained

Kmet’s role in the passing offense should expand in Year 2, especially if the Bears get better quarterback play. He could get some time there and he runs pretty well, but I’m not sure he’s the ideal guy at that position. He’s a good blocker and he should get better in that area, too, and he definitely could develop as one of the better pass-catching “Y” tight ends in the league. We’ll see how he’s used but I expect him to have more production as a receiver in his second season.

Looking beyond 2021, are the Bears lined up to have a low-salary quarterback and lots of money to play with to refresh the roster? Or will Justin Fields be saddled with older-player contracts that earlier kept getting reworked, with money pushed down the road? — @cronebender

If Fields pans out as the Bears hope, they are set up to have a starting quarterback on a rookie deal, which certainly can give a team roster flexibility for three or four seasons. Fields’ standing, however, doesn’t have anything to do with other moves that already were made and that will saddle the club with higher-priced players. The salary cap is expected to take a good jump in 2023, and that’s when the Bears ought to have the kind of room needed to make any number of moves to fortify the roster. That was the thinking after they drafted Mitch Trubisky, and it’s really the goal of all teams that roll with young quarterbacks on their first NFL contracts.

As I understand it, the Bears get additional salary-cap space this week from the post-June 1 release of Charles Leno. While that provides needed room to sign the draft class, could there be any more cuts made with the cap in mind? — Ron V., Lombard

Anything is possible, but if I had to venture a guess, Leno and Kyle Fuller will wind up being the two veterans with bigger contracts who were released. I don’t see any additional players getting shipped out with the cap as a major consideration. At this point, the Bears can create cap space by taking one or two (or three) players’ base salaries for 2021 and converting them to bonus money in order to spread the hits over future years. They already did this during this offseason with free safety Eddie Jackson. A prime candidate for this would be outside linebacker Robert Quinn. He has a base salary of $11.5 million, and a big chunk of that could be converted to bonus money in order to reduce his 2021 cap hit of $14.7 million. Of course, such a move would come with future ramifications. If the Bears release Quinn after this season (and the $30 million guarantee in his contract is done after 2021), he would count as $9.3 million in dead money against the 2022 cap. If they restructure his contract, that number would rise.

The NFL and NFLPA agreed last week to a 2022 salary-cap ceiling of $208.2 million. That doesn’t mean it necessarily will be that high, but it could be. As you know, the cap was $198 million in 2020 and dipped to $182.5 million for this season. That bump in 2022 will help the Bears, but they still will be relatively snug when you consider that, according to overthecap.com, they will have a little more than $45 million in cap space (using $208.2 million as the 2022 cap number) but have only 39 players under contract. Remember, those figures don’t include a No. 1 wide receiver as Allen Robinson is entering the final year of his deal. Still, the cap ceiling probably comes as good news for the Bears. The real jump for the cap should arrive in 2023, when revenue from new television deals kicks in and the league moves beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hypothetical question. Andy Dalton is learning Matt Nagy’s playbook and offense the same way Justin Fields is learning it — from scratch. It’s not like Dalton has been with the Bears for four years like Alex Smith was with the Chiefs before Patrick Mahomes arrived. That being said, let’s say Fields puts a ton of study time into the playbook and actually learns it quicker than Dalton and outplays Dalton in training camp practices and preseason games. Does Nagy start Fields if he gives the Bears a better chance to win? Or do you believe Ryan Pace/Matt Nagy giving Dalton their word he was QB1 means they put their promise/word over doing what’s in the best interest of the team? — Dan, Chicago

A lot has to occur before the Bears reach that point. Fields is regarded for having a high football acumen and being a gym rat, so I don’t think there is any question he will put a ton of effort into learning the offense. Given Dalton’s extensive history and previous time with offensive coordinator Bill Lazor, he should be able to pick up the offense slightly faster simply because he’s familiar with NFL concepts and what the Bears want to accomplish offensively. That doesn’t mean Fields cannot overtake him. Keep in mind Nagy wants to make a decision that’s best for the present, but he also needs to make a decision that’s best for him in the long term. When you looked at the roster needs entering the draft through the prism Nagy and Pace were using, it was obvious they needed to make a move for a quarterback. They had to stake their future to a quarterback who provided the Bears hope and promise. Now they need to develop Fields properly. Potentially rushing him onto the field could be a misstep. But if he exceeds expectations, outplays Dalton and clearly is the best option, maybe he has a shot.

Do you think Bears players will have any leverage when it comes to who they would prefer to be the starting quarterback? Not that it matters because it’s the coaches’ decision, but you would think they would be listened to. — @mzilli22

You’re right when you say it really doesn’t matter. Coaches coach and players play. The thing is, the players will see the same thing on the practice field and in preseason games that the coaches do. The players may have a feeling — even a strong feeling — about who should be playing quarterback, but I don’t think it would reach a point where any of them would step out and make a suggestion to the coaches. That’s not how it works.

Any new rumblings on extending Allen Robinson before the season gets underway? — @kinginthenfcn

This question, in one form or another, has been submitted every week since draft weekend, and I’ve touched on it only once because it doesn’t make sense to revisit the same topic every seven days when nothing has changed. Here’s the deal: If the Bears are going to hammer out a multiyear extension with Robinson, my guess is that would happen just before the July 15 deadline for players under the franchise tag to sign a bigger deal. That’s normally how business works for players who get tagged and don’t quickly come to terms on a multiyear contract. The deadline sometimes spurs one or both sides to get something done. I don’t sense there has been any movement to this point. Does that mean there won’t be? Not necessarily. My guess right now is there’s a good chance Robinson winds up playing out the season on the tag, which likely would make him a free agent in March 2022 as the Bears are unlikely to tag him a second time. But a little more than six weeks remain until the deadline, and sometimes contracts come together quickly.

Why haven’t the Bears signed any of their draft picks yet? — @bills_562

The Bears did not have the cap space to sign their top two picks until Wednesday, when the post-June 1 release of Charles Leno officially hit the books. There’s no rush to get it done and I wouldn’t expect any hang-ups when it comes to getting the draft class under contract.

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