The Bears entered this offseason with massive amounts of salary-cap space. That was due to Ryan Poles’ wise financial decisions since taking over as general manager in 2022, leading to roughly $79 million in available space entering the NFL Scouting Combine.

Poles has used some of it since then.

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The Bears made two major trades last week, acquiring guards Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson for draft capital. Both of those guys come with a hefty price tag the Bears were willing to absorb to upgrade their greatest positional weakness.

Jackson and Thuney will occupy a collective $27.8 million in 2025. The Bears also extended core special teams players Josh Blackwell and Amen Ogbongbemiga, which ate up another $4.75 million.

That leaves the Bears with $42.4 million in cap space overall, per OverTheCap.com. They have $36.8 million in effective cap space, an important number that accounts for the salaries allocated to the top 51 salaries and wages required to pay the rookie deals for every draft slot they currently possess.

Here’s a look at the reported financials heading into the start of free agency when the league year begins on Wednesday afternoon.

Bears salary cap space

(Numbers from OverTheCap.com and based on a stated $279.2 million cap)

Total cap space: $42.4 million

Effective cap space: $36.8 million (ranked No. 17 overall)

• NOTE: This is the projected total available after accounting for the Bears’ top 51 roster spots and the rookies from their upcoming draft class.

Dead money: $4.05 million (ranked No. 30 overall)

Total cap liabilities: $243.69 million

The main takeaway from the figures you just read: The Bears are free to do whatever they want in free agency. They have room to take on another huge cap number, one that might be required in a Trey Hendrickson trade or a Josh Sweat signing.

They could outbid folks for center Drew Dalman or a highly touted receiver should they so choose, while still addressing other needs as the Bears build a solid depth chart at all positions. They need to find fits for Ben Johnson’s offense and Dennis Allen’s defense, new schemes that aren’t too far away from those previous in terms of skill-set requirements.

It will be interesting to see how Poles and Johnson navigate this pivotal period, where the Bears have a chance to make drastic improvements in a short amount of time.