Chicago Bears cap moves - who stays and who gets cut?

Summary

Forward Progress – Chicago Bears Cap Moves: Who Stays and Who Gets Cut?

Podcast: Forward Progress – A Chicago Bears Podcast
Hosts: Dan Bernstein & Matt Abbatacola
Date: February 10, 2026
Episode Theme: With the Bears facing real cap constraints for the first time in a while, Dan and Matt break down the salary cap crunch, difficult roster decisions, and what it means for key players as Chicago heads into the offseason.

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Episode Overview

This episode confronts the Chicago Bears’ salary cap predicament following years of cap flexibility. Dan and Matt dive deep into decisions facing GM Ryan Poles and the front office: Who gets cut, who stays, and how health and value intersect for some of the team’s biggest names? Using a recent article by Kevin Fishbane (The Athletic) as a springboard, they weigh tough choices, evaluate likely outcomes, and debate positional value in the “new money” world for the Bears.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The End of Surplus Cap Space (00:22–02:34)

• Transition years: The Bears are out of the cap surplus era. For years, "look at all the cap space” was the narrative, now it’s gone — and that’s a sign of a competitive roster.
• “They spent several years well under the cap, and that was a big thing. Look at all the cap space. Well, guess what? That cap space is gone. It's gone and they're good. That's what's supposed to happen.” – Dan (00:48)
• Critical timing: Bears have not paid their quarterback (Caleb Williams) yet, meaning it’s pivotal to get maximum value ahead of the inevitable big extension.

2. Importance of Endless Draft Pipeline (02:57–05:17)

• Sustained draft success: The team must keep restocking with inexpensive young players to stay successful; can’t just draft a couple good years and expect to coast.
• “You must, must, must keep restocking through the draft with inexpensive players. If this is done correctly, the best players make the most money when they’re playing their best.” – Dan (03:15)
• Impactful rookie classes and cheap contributors are now non-negotiable as Bears move toward expensive QB reality.

3. Candidate Cuts: Who’s on the Bubble? (05:17–10:30)

• The major names discussed for cut/restructure:
  • Tremaine Edmonds: Savings of $15M, minimal dead money due to scheme mismatch under new DC Dennis Allen.
    • “The obvious name to cut is Tremaine Edmonds. … That’s a $15 million cap savings, a dead money of only 2.4.” – Dan (05:17)
  • Cole Kmet: Good tight end but $8.4M savings available. With heavy sets (12/13 personnel), production can be hard to replace but may be fiscally prudent.
  • DeAndre Swift: Productive but replaceable; $7.5M savings possible.
• DJ Moore: Can’t cut. Even post-June 1st, too costly in dead money. “That is financially irresponsible.” – Matt (06:58)
• Jalen Johnson: The biggest “hinge” decision. His late-season play looked hampered; $15.9M savings if cut (with $9M dead cap). The crux: is his injury trending right?
  • “If the Jalen Johnson … is what he is now, I’m cutting him. If … now he's healthy … different conversation.” – Dan (06:58)
  • “I mean, there's a cap savings of 15.9 million with a dead money hit of 9 million. That's … a lot to me.” – Matt (07:58)
  • Debate raged about health reporting, comparable injury recoveries, trusting medicals, and risk balancing.

4. The Cruel Math of NFL Cap Decisions (10:30–16:14)

• Taking emotion out: Dan stresses differentiating between emotional attachment and cold value analysis. “That player is not worth that money.” (08:50)
• The cruel side of football: “This league is cruel, and one of the ways in which it’s cruel is injuries take away who you are.” – Dan (09:10)
• If Johnson can’t get healthy, need to “live with a $9 million dead money hit” to save the larger cap number.
• Decision deadline looms (June 1) but complete medical certainty can be elusive.

5. Secondary Fallout & Position Prioritization (16:14–18:00)

• TJ Edwards: Another name flagged as an injury/replaceability question ($11M due, “bad injury”).
• Linebacker as fungible?: Linebacker has become (along with box safety & RB) a “replaceable” position unless the player is truly special.
  • “Linebacker is like the running back of the defense.” – Matt (16:57)

6. Tackles, Contracts, & the O-Line Dilemma (14:19–15:52)

• Darnell Wright possibly due to become “the highest paid tackle in football,” but positional fit (left vs. right tackle) raises contract structure questions and future leverage for both player and team.

7. The Reality of Success: Can’t Keep Everyone (15:52–18:14)

• Fans want to “run it back” with the full 2025 squad, but that’s not realistic.
  • “I know that everyone’s like, bring back everybody. It was awesome. It's just not reality.” – Dan (15:52)
• These are “good problems” for a contending team; forced to make hard choices to continue being good.

8. Early 2026 Power Rankings & Schedule (26:46–32:34)

• Power Rankings:
  • Eric Edholm has Bears seventh overall, third in NFC after Seattle and LA Rams.
  • ESPN slots Bears at 11th overall (seventh in NFC).
• Schedule toughness: “Hardest strength of schedule going into the year.”—Matt (30:50)
• Upcoming schedule includes a gauntlet of playoff and fringe-playoff caliber teams.

9. Offseason Travel and Tangents (32:34–35:00)

• The hosts lighten up with travel wish-lists (Seattle, Vancouver, Montreal, New York), pizza cravings, and inside jokes—mirroring the energy of Bears fans dreaming big in the offseason.

10. Mock Draft Preview and Perspective (35:00–43:34)

• Mock Draft (Chad Reuter, NFL.com):
  • 1st Round (#25): DT Kaden McDonald, Ohio State
  • 2nd Round (#57): S Jalen Kilgore, South Carolina
  • 3rd Round (#89): Edge Danny Dennis-Sutton, Penn State
• The hosts riff off each prospect’s bio and production, adding color commentary—especially on measurables:
  • “He has both height and weight!” (Dan, on Kaden McDonald, 39:02)
• Jokes about conjoined twin linemen, draft follies, and a potential “Pavia Cast” podcast about obscure QB prospects keep the banter flowing.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Draft Reliance:
  “You must, must, must keep restocking through the draft with inexpensive players.” – Dan (03:15)
• Tremaine Edmonds Situation:
  “The obvious name to cut is Tremaine Edmonds.” – Dan (05:17)
• Jalen Johnson Health:
  “If the Jalen Johnson that we saw at the end of the year is what he is now, I’m cutting him.” – Dan (06:58)
  “I have to know … is he going to be the player that he once was?” – Matt (10:53)
• On Emotional Decisions:
  “I'm trying to take emotion out of it, and it's very simple. That player is not worth that money.” – Dan (08:50)
• NFL Cruelty:
  “This league is cruel, and one of the ways in which it’s cruel is injuries take away who you are.” – Dan (09:10)
• On Reality vs. Fan Hope:
  “I know that everyone’s like, bring back everybody. It was awesome. It's just not reality.” – Dan (15:52)
• Linebacker Devaluation:
  “Linebacker is like the running back of the defense.” – Matt (16:57)
• O-Line Frustrations:
  “I've seen enough of the Darnell Wright or the Braxton story. ... You just wish him luck.” – Matt (15:16)
• Lighthearted Banter:
  “He has both height and weight!” – Dan (39:02) “Don't take the conjoined twins and make it center. Now you make it crazy.” – Dan (36:33)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Bears Cap Crisis Begins: 00:22–02:34
• Draft Pipeline Importance: 02:57–05:17
• Major Cut Candidates: 05:17–10:30
• Jalen Johnson Debate: 06:58–13:46
• DeAndre Swift, TJ Edwards, Others: 13:46–16:14
• O-Line & Darnell Wright Dilemma: 14:19–15:52
• Reality of Cap Cuts: 15:52–18:14
• Power Rankings/Schedule: 26:46–32:34
• Mock Draft & Prospect Banter: 35:00–43:34

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Tone & Takeaways

• The episode blends hard-nosed, analytic cap analysis with humorous, sometimes irreverent friendship banter, keeping the conversation accessible and genuinely Chicago.
• Fans come away with a clear view: hard roster choices are here, few absolutes beyond DJ Moore, and health or development questions loom largest for this “good problem” roster.
• The Bears’ offseason will be defined by cold calculations, resilience in the draft, and rolling with the unpredictable nature of NFL injuries and scheduling.

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For fans eager to understand the Bears’ 2026 offseason, this episode offers critical insights, tough truths, and the perfect dose of Bears banter.

Transcript

[A]

I mean, if you're a Bears fan.

[B]

You'Re thinking forward progress. Come on. 10, 2, 19.

[A]

2, 19. Forward progress, a Chicago Bears podcast with Dan Bernstein and Matt Abeticola on 3one2 Sports.

[B]

Welcome to Forward Progress, a Chicago Bears podcast. We are awarding you Forward Progress here as we talk Bears and NFL on 312 Sports. And we have entered that period of the season where we are grumbling about undisclosed super bowl injuries and preparing for the combine. And also it is the annual time where our buddy Kevin Fishbane over at the Athletic starts looking at the effects of the salary cap and what the Bears are faced with now. They spent several years well under the cap, and that was a big thing. Look at all the cap space. Well, guess what? That cap space is gone. It's gone and they're good. That's what's supposed to happen.

[A]

Correct.

[B]

They still have not paid their quarterback. So this is still the critical, critical time to maximize everything else. When before you have plunked down that much of your franchise value to your quarterback. And I asked you to look over these lists and to look at some of the names and the name should not surprise us because, you know, the people who signed the larger deals and where we are in those deals and what it means when we balance out the amount of savings, the amount of dead cap, then the June 1st spreads and what can be done to extend some of that money into the next league year. And I asked you if you came away with a conclusion. Now, I looked at something and I looked at something that caused me to ask a question that I think is going to be immensely unpopular.

[A]

Okay, well, I want to hear what that question is because. So it's Kevin Fishbane's article from the Athletic. Really well done. Breaks it all down, makes it very simple, easy to understand what the Bears are facing. As you mentioned, always had lots of cap space. This year they're actually in the negative. So there is a lot of work that Ryan poles and the Bears cap people are going to have to work through, whether it's restructuring contracts, cutting people.

[B]

Matt finds. Is it Feinstein or Feinstein?

[A]

That I'm not sure.

[B]

I think it's Feinstein.

[A]

Feinstein.

[B]

I don't know.

[A]

We'll find out. But yeah, Matt Feinstein is the cap guy. So there's a lot of work for the Bears to do, something they haven't really faced in an off season in quite some time. So when you look through it, what. What jumped out at you or what was the most important question that you asked which now that you phrase it as a way that it'll be unpopular, I'm very curious to hear what you took away.

[B]

It's. And eventually it's addressed in the article. But when you start looking and here are a couple facts, okay. One is a good team to keep for it to keep being good has to keep developing through the draft.

[A]

Correct.

[B]

You don't just draft and then declare. Okay, we had a good couple drafts. Now we're set. You must, must, must keep restocking through the draft with inexpensive players. If this is done correctly. The best players make the most money when they're playing their best.

[A]

Right. And when you look at the future of the Bears in Caleb Williams and Colston Loveland and Luther Burden, Roma Dunes A, those are guys that when you're, when you're paying them a lot of money, especially Caleb Williams, when that's going to take up a huge percentage of your cap space, you need to be productive and do well in your scouting of drafting players. You have to because you have to have draft classes like you just saw Dan, that are impactful on your season.

[B]

Yeah. It's not once in a while you have a good draft, let's say hooray. It has to be there have to be viable players always in. It doesn't have to be just the draft, but it might be your own developmental pipelines. It might be your pro scouting finding young players off of other teams. We noted that yesterday talking about both of the super bowl teams have a lot of guys were cut by other squads. It's always being aware of that. A high roster churn can correlate with a lot of success. If you're constantly, every Tuesday you're trying guys out. Every Tuesday you're, you're churning that practice squad. You're going through people and trying to figure out who you can develop because injuries are going to take away all these players anyway. So what I'm wondering and the question that I have to have answered first and you're going to see where I'm going here because the obvious name to cut is Tremaine Edmonds. It's obvious, yes. Because we need to find out with Dennis Allen how important that position is. We know Dennis, Dennis Allen is not running what Matt Eberflus ran and Tremaine Edmonds role in the other defense was a much of much higher importance and significance than in what they're running now.

[A]

So if Tremaine Edmonds was released, that.

[B]

Is a 15 million cap savings, a dead money of only 2.4.

[A]

Right. And he's currently looking at his contract by position. He's the fourth highest paid player at that position.

[B]

Okay. You also have Cole Comet now. And if you were to release Cole comet, you save 8.4 million. There's 3.2 million of dead money. DeAndre Swift, you would save 7 1/2 million and only 1.3 of dead money. Right. Now we know DeAndre Swift is a running back. Can you find a less expensive replacement running back? Yeah, of course you can. Who can probably be close to his level of production? The answer is yes, you can. But he's only 27. He did improve last year. He had a really good year. He's important. Cole Comet, same thing that you're running a lot of 12 personnel, sometimes 13 personnel. And you need really good tight ends. He's really good. But could he be. Could enough of his production be replaced less expensively so that you're talking about a guy who.

[A]

I think he was at 70% of the snaps for the season around that mark. Yeah.

[B]

And any one of these could. Might make you mad because you can't cut D.J. moore.

[A]

Correct.

[B]

You can't.

[A]

It's bad financially.

[B]

You cannot cut him. Correct. Even after June 1st. Even if you extend it after June 1st, you only save a million and you have 27 and a half million of dead money.

[A]

Right. That. That is financially irresponsible.

[B]

You're not doing that and you're not doing the same goes for Dio Adangbo. So the name and the question I want to ask is how healthy is Jaylon Johnson? That's what I came away with here. I have to know because if the Jalen Johnson that we saw at the end of the year is what he is now, I'm cutting him. If the Jalen Johnson who we saw at the end of the year doesn't exist anymore and now he's healthy and now he's himself. Different conversation. He looked slow and bad at the end of the year.

[A]

He did. And we talked about it quite a bit and the idea of getting back out on the field. He even said, I am not going to play enough the rest of this year to get back to where I know I can play. He said that.

[B]

Boy, is it important to know.

[A]

We knew that going into it. I don't like it though. I mean, it's still. That's. I mean, there's a cap savings of 15.9 million with a dead money hit of 9 million. That, that's, that seems, that's, that's a lot. That's A lot to me.

[B]

Mm.

[A]

I mean, there are, you know, like you mentioned, Cole Comet, a $10 million savings and a 1.6 million hit. That's something I can. I can. I can live with. Again, it's not my money. It's not my decision, but as a fan on the outside looking, I can say, yeah, 2 million. I can live with 2 million dead money. 9. 9 million seems like an awful lot.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

It seems like there's a lot you can do with 9 million.

[B]

I'm just trying to think, though, if he doesn't get healthier, then that's a lot of money to pay somebody who looked like that.

[A]

No, you're. You're not. You're not wrong. You're not wrong at all.

[B]

And I'm trying. I'm trying to take emotion out of it.

[A]

I know.

[B]

I'm trying to take all that out of it, and it's very simple. That player is not worth that money.

[A]

I also believe, though, Dan, if they didn't believe and he didn't believe in his own body that he could get back to the player that he was, he wouldn't have been out there at the end of the season.

[B]

That's fine, and I love belief. But ultimately, this league is cruel, and one of the ways in which it's cruel is injuries. Take away who you are, it's exactly like what we're dealing with here. When I'm talking about the Bulls and Jade and Ivy, Same kind of thing. The difference is the. The risk level and the stakes. It's kind of a free. Look at Jaden Ivey here. Yeah, he's going to be a restricted free agent like they have. But. But that's, again, a guy who was on a track to being a great player, a potentially great player who now looks like something less than that.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And he's had plenty of time. I will. I just. I need to know from your doctors, from Johnson, from an objective scouting perspective, and you. You may not know by June 1st. You got to know. Now you got to say, how long do you need? And then I don't know what.

[A]

Is.

[B]

What you're allowed to do. I don't know what you're. What. How you can diagnose, how you can test. You can't run them through a combine.

[A]

No, you can't.

[B]

But this is. This is. This is a huge decision because I don't want to get to a point where, all right, we're keeping him, and then you in the middle. In the middle of this year, you end up with a Jalen Johnson that finished the season, that. That's. That's a problem. So this is not an easy call.

[A]

Yeah. So what you have to rely on is what the player says. You have to rely on what your doctors have learned about him through the course of the season now that he's away for a bit.

[B]

And then now that you have all.

[A]

That imaging and you have to understand what medical history says from that kind of info, where he's at.

[B]

Bingo. But other. Are there comparable people who do comparable things who have come back from similar injuries because there were multiple. Right.

[A]

Correct. There were multiple injuries. Different injuries. So here's the thing. If you can confidently say he's not going to be the player that he once was, okay. If he's not at that level, what percentage of player is he going to be? And how does that compare to what's available or what we can. What we get or what we have? Okay. And if you say that even at the level he's going to play at is not good enough, you have to be confident in your doctors and all the knowledge you have of the injuries and of the player to say, yep, we're going to live with a $9 million dead money hit to save 15.5 million off his $24.5 million salary, perhaps.

[B]

Allow you to retain someone you would have otherwise let go. Whether or not, and I don't know how positionally you look at this, maybe it's not positional, maybe it's all in the same bucket.

[A]

And maybe you look at it and say, if we get rid of. If Jalen Johnson goes, that helps us keep a guy like Brisker or Bayard Met.

[B]

If you wanted to re sign to Sean Wright, depending on what he's getting on the open market, any number of these and. Or the guys you might want to extend to create some of the cap space here. So he missed time at the start of training camp with a leg injury that they said was suffered in the off season, right?

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Then it was the groin injury where they eventually told us it was at least a partially avulsed adductor. That means a groin muscle. The groin muscle.

[A]

And avulsed is pulled off the bone.

[B]

Yes. Okay. So he had surgery. Then he was reaggravated against the Lions. He did surgery and they said on groin and core muscles. So that could have been also a sports hernia or any number of things that could qualify as surgery on groin and core. Went on IR activated November 27th and couldn't really run the way we're used to seeing him run. That's a severe injury.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And maybe it was just too early in his rehab, but you got to know before June 1st or maybe if you can't, the decision's already made.

[A]

Yeah, that's. I was going to say maybe they already know what their direction is or what I'm saying.

[B]

Or maybe because they know, they don't know, like, well, we got it. We're going to keep him. We're not going to just, we're not going to be so stupid as to get rid of a guy sort of on spec here before we know what he is when we've. We're giving him every incentive, every carrot to come back and come back, come back and work to come back. And maybe he's fine. It's possible he's fine. And then you've got somebody who is among the best at his position at an increasingly reasonable deal with every year that goes by. So this is how hard it is, though.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

This is the reality of some of this. Yeah.

[A]

Just looking at, I think Tremaine Edmonds is that no brainer at a $15 million savings, dead money of 3 million. And I think we might, we might be seeing, we might have seen the last of DeAndre Swift as a Bears running back.

[B]

Possible.

[A]

I mean, if you feel confident that you could find another guy in a 5, 6, 7 round pick or off.

[B]

Of some other team.

[A]

Or off some other team. Sure. But I'm running back, you know, looking at the draft. Yeah.

[B]

It's a running back.

[A]

Right. Because I don't know, I mean, I don't see enough of an outside perspective from outside the organization, enough conversation around the left tackle. I'm telling you that that is, that's a significant issue for me.

[B]

Well. And you're gonna have to pay Darnell.

[C]

Right.

[B]

And the question is, are you paying Darnell? Right. Because he's gonna, he might set the market. He might be the highest paid tackle in football. And if that's the case.

[A]

But, but he wasn't good enough to play for your team.

[B]

Play left, right.

[A]

No, left, no left, left, left, right, right.

[B]

If, in fact you're envisioning you, you may, and this is kind of dirty pool here, but what if you signed him and extended him as a, as a right tackle and obviously his agent's going to see that coming and is going to put in all sorts of escalators. If you move him over, move him.

[A]

Over, you're going to jack up.

[B]

Yeah, right. But I'm saying, I don't know.

[A]

I do I, I've, I've seen enough of the Darnell Wright or the Braxton story. I've seen enough of it. It's time. I don't, I don't. You know, if he, if he goes somewhere and he, and he becomes a all pro left tackle, I mean, he had opportunities here and your coaches that you believe in didn't see enough.

[B]

Right.

[A]

To say he's the guy. It's like they can't, they can't sign him to anything. He's like, it's done.

[B]

And you wish him luck and say, if you want to be the next Charles Leno and have a nice career somewhere else, go ahead and go do that.

[A]

Go ahead, because I've seen enough of it.

[B]

Okay. I just want to point out some of the ways that these decisions and I know that everyone's like, bring back everybody. It was awesome. It's just not reality. It's just not what happens. And it's part of being good. These are good problems to have. You want this. It's better than being in the other situation. Get rid of everybody. Yeah.

[A]

I mean, I look at TJ Edwards too, as a question mark with the. We don't know. We don't know.

[B]

Bad injury.

[A]

Yeah. And he's, he's set to make 11 million next year.

[B]

It's a bad injury. Is he more replaceable? Another fair question.

[A]

Well, you know, I saw, I saw enough of DeMarco Jackson to say, I want him out there, I'll take him out there on the field.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

You know, and is this an opportunity moving into the 2026 season where Edmonds and Edwards are no longer wearing Bears uniforms?

[B]

We don't hear a lot about linebackers necessarily. It's. And it's sort of a league thing too, that that linebacker is like the.

[A]

Running back of the defense.

[B]

Well, depending on what you're doing. I mean, obviously not. It's not entirely true because you. So many of these linebackers, these hybrid.

[A]

Yeah. If you're doing a 3, 4 and you get.

[B]

Not even in a 3, 4, there's so many nickel corners who are also linebackers and you're ask everybody to be multi positional. The nature of some of these defenses and is changing tremendously. And that's why this idea of, you know, stack linebackers are replaceable, box safeties are replaceable. You can just go find those guys. Those are, those are considered the more fungible positions and always have. But sometimes someone is too special and sometimes you build your defense around the unique abilities of a certain player. You don't want to do that too much. But then you've got to evaluate how deep your draft is at what positions, how your boards could fall. Yeah, and here's. Here's where they make their money. Here's what you're paying these people to do in all of these positions. It's a. This is a real test for Ryan Poles here. Sustaining.

[A]

Yeah, this is huge. It's a huge offseason.

[B]

It's huge.

[A]

And again, being able to get a draft class that has an impact on your 2026 season is going to be vital to your success. Yep.

[B]

It always is, Right? Always is.

[A]

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[A]

You know one guy that will not be a part of any team's decisions as far as what happens with cap hits or off season moves or drafts, is old Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Pace.

[B]

Oh, yeah, they didn't want him around anymore.

[A]

Ian Cunningham got on board in Atlanta and he was like, ryan, come on in the office. Need to.

[B]

Don't say it was Ian Cunningham, because if Ian Cunningham is making that decision, the Bears should get two third rounds.

[A]

Ian Cunningham brought lunch and coffee in for the guys that made that decision.

[B]

Went to Matt Ryan's office. Ryan polls his former college roommate and said, hey, by the way, I got an idea for you here, Mr. Football.

[A]

Right. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that. Ian Cunningham did not make any decision and he's not making any. As a matter of fact, they've stripped all decision making ability from Ian Cunningham. He can't decide what to wear, not allowed to. What to Eat right. Where to go?

[B]

See, that's the guy on Kalshee. We should be betting whether or not he's having dinner tonight.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Right. Yeah.

[A]

He has to ask Matt Ryan, what can I do?

[B]

I have no power here, obviously. I clearly have no power.

[A]

Yeah. Like the other day, he interrupted a meeting Matt Ryan was having and he's. What do you need? He said, hey, may I use the bathroom? Go ahead. You can use the bathroom. He's like, I really need to relieve myself.

[B]

It's like that.

[A]

I've had a lot of Dr. Pepper.

[B]

This scene in Shawshank Redemption when he's working at the grocery store.

[A]

Oh, yeah, that's right after Red gets relieved myself.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

Did you know that they were looking at Tom Cruise for that role of Andy Dufresne? And he. And he wanted a different director to do it and they actually offered. I don't remember who directed.

[B]

Frank Darabont.

[A]

Frank Darabont.

[B]

Thank you.

[A]

They offered him 3 million to walk away. And he said, no, this is going to be a significant movie for my career. I'm not going to do it.

[B]

So he.

[A]

He. So Tom Cruise is out. It was also offered to Tom Hanks, and it was another. Another actor. I can't remember who it was. When I read the article, I could.

[B]

See Tom Hanks doing it. Not Tom Cruise at all.

[A]

No, not Tom Cruise. But it's weird. I can't even see Tom Hanks doing it because Tim Robbins was phenomenal.

[B]

It always happens after the fact. Yeah. It's like Sylvester Stallone is Indiana Jones.

[A]

Was that talk?

[B]

I think so.

[A]

Hey. Oh, Germans.

[B]

Exactly.

[A]

Over here, you Nazis.

[B]

Right. Turns around, the giant boulder is rolling at him.

[A]

He just starts, give me back that Arch of Jesus. It's Ark of the Covenant, but that's fine, too. Arch of Jesus.

[B]

Well, it wasn't Jesus. It was the previous God.

[A]

But that's what he was saying.

[B]

Yeah, I see.

[A]

He's just a guy from. Just a boxer from Philly. Turned archaeologist.

[B]

Yeah, I don't.

[A]

I think that was.

[B]

That was one of the names on there. Yeah. He was wanted for every movie. It wasn't Jaws. Was.

[A]

Hey, Rock, we got a new fight for you. I can't do it. Gotta go take on the Nazis religious artifacts. Gotta do it, Adrian.

[B]

You're Marion. That's right.

[A]

That's what it would have been.

[B]

You're Marion. Marion Ravenwood.

[A]

Also a miss on our top 10. Ravens.

[B]

Marion. Ravenswood?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Is it Ravenwood or Ravenswood? It was her father. That was the one that Bob wasn't.

[A]

Her father was Bob.

[B]

It wasn't Bob.

[A]

Bob Ravenswood.

[B]

Do we know his first day? I think we did. I got to look that up.

[A]

All right, so anyway, Ryan Pace going to go. I don't know. But you know who I saw? This was crazy. Back in the NFL with the Chargers. Took a job with the Chargers. Adam Gase.

[B]

I saw that.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Okay. By the way, her father's Dr. Abner Ravenwood.

[A]

Abner. That's right.

[B]

Abner.

[A]

Abner.

[B]

And it is Ravenwood. Not like the local neighborhood.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Of Ravenswood or Ravenswood Manor, which is lovely.

[A]

I knew it was. I knew it was Abner. I knew his name was Abner. I knew that.

[B]

Yeah, I did.

[A]

Because it's in the movie.

[B]

What? I know it's in the movie, but it doesn't mean that you knew it. But I knew it.

[A]

Once you said it, I knew it. Okay, well, you jogged my memory. Yeah. So it's jogged.

[B]

Jogged.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Oh, it's jogged. The difference between recall and recognition.

[A]

I recalled it.

[B]

The difference between a fill in the blank exam and a multiple choice exam. Yes.

[A]

Sometimes you get multiple choice because they give you the options for the answers there on the sheet.

[B]

I'm not falling for this today.

[A]

You're not falling for what? What are you not falling for?

[B]

I'm not going to let you be a penis and just try to make me mad.

[A]

It's too late. I saw the look on your face.

[B]

I'm not mad.

[A]

Yeah, you are.

[B]

No, I'm not. You are so not.

[A]

You are. You're really. Why don't you just relax, man? Just relax.

[B]

Take a breath. It's okay.

[A]

Everything's fine. Nobody's gonna be angry. What are you gonna be angry about?

[B]

You know, I love that, too. Being told that always has a really good effect.

[A]

That's not a trigger at all. No, you should just relax, Dan.

[B]

It's fine.

[A]

Everything's fine. Yeah, it's reason to be mad.

[B]

It's fine. Why are you. Why are you worried? Why are you uptight? We're so tight, man.

[A]

You're not going to fall for the banana in the tailpipe.

[B]

Not going to fall for the banana at the tailpipe. No, I'm not.

[A]

All right, so Ryan Pace got gays.

[B]

And Pace Gase is back. Pace is gone out polls, has tough decisions to make. Is somebody going to hire Ryan Pace?

[A]

That's like a song.

[B]

What do you think?

[A]

I don't know, but yeah, Ryan Pace has got the Looking for work bad. The thing on his LinkedIn. Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. They gave him six years here. Is that right?

[A]

He wasn't here that long, was he, really?

[B]

I think he was. I think he was. I think Ryan Pace is here for six years. Wow, that's just. That's the most bears thing. 2015 to 2021.

[A]

That's a long time.

[B]

That is a long ass time for a guy who doesn't know what he's doing in his job.

[A]

Well, you had one good year out of that, right? 18 was it.

[B]

They one good half of a game. The Khalil Mack first half against the Packers.

[A]

Oh, that was awesome.

[B]

That was one of my Bears fan highs.

[A]

My only time at Lambeau. Seeing that in person was great. And then to see your guy come out at halftime all drugged up and throw for like three touchdowns.

[B]

Why is it my guy now?

[A]

Oh, Aaron Rodgers is always going to be your guy.

[B]

All of a sudden, it's my guy.

[A]

Okay. Yes.

[B]

All right.

[A]

Okay. Your guy. White Sox baseball. Bulls basketball.

[B]

I thought you were handling White Sox baseball. You just said you were.

[A]

Oh, you're right. I said that. On dbu.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

I'll take out all the. Yeah. Baseball's mine, basketball's yours. Hockey.

[B]

We'Ll figure that out. Yeah, I went.

[A]

You're hockey.

[B]

I'm hockey.

[A]

Yeah, you get hockey.

[B]

I went to the most recent. I was the most recent attendee. Blackhawks game.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So at the moment, I'm in charge of hockey.

[A]

Yes, you were there until I go again.

[B]

I was.

[A]

And I'll take over. Yeah.

[B]

A really good time.

[A]

All right. I was looking. One of the things I like to do here, Dan, is we're getting ready for the combine, which is in 12 days and all the off season happenings, which will. We'll take you right through the off season here on Forward Progress. We're not going anywhere. Ford Progress will be here for you five days a week throughout the entire off season. Maybe some special weekend shows, too. You never know. Maybe we'll do something live from a bubble bath somewhere.

[B]

You didn't tell me about that.

[A]

Yeah, maybe we'll take a bubble bath and do a live show.

[B]

Cool.

[A]

Not together, but separate.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Separate bubble bats with rubber duckies and everything. Be fun. But Ford Progress will be here for you. And I like to look through the. The early off season power rankings.

[B]

According to whom?

[A]

Well, no, this. So I found a good one from our guy Eric at home.

[B]

Oh, all right. Does he give his criteria? Because it's really important to know what the criteria are.

[A]

No, let's don't.

[B]

No, don't. Don't make it so difficult. Just.

[A]

Just go with the way.

[B]

It's my job to make things overcomplicated and difficult.

[A]

So here's what Eric at home had for the post super bowl rankings. Yes, sir. So he had your Chicago Bears, Dan. Our Chicago Bears, seventh in the post super bowl rankings.

[B]

Seventh. Okay.

[A]

Pretty good. He actually had them third in the nfc. And the two teams they're behind in the FC would be.

[B]

Who? The teams they were behind in the NFC would be the Rams and the Niners.

[A]

Nope. Rams are one of them. See, it was such an unforgettable Super Bowl. You forgot the champions already. So, yeah, Seattle number one. And then he has the Rams third overall, the Bears seventh overall. And then compare that to espn. They put out their. Their super bowl rankings. Yes, they have the Bears at 11th.

[B]

Now, this is power rankings for this year based on.

[A]

Based on what happened after the end of the season.

[B]

All right? But it's not. There's nothing to do with next year.

[A]

You can't do that because the rosters change.

[B]

I thought this was presuming they'll draft players. All right.

[A]

I don't know what any of these players. So the roster will look different. We just talked about possibly cutting guys that will no longer be there.

[B]

I'm probably cutting guys.

[A]

So I'm sorry. I thought post super bowl rankings kind of made it clear.

[B]

Post super bowl rankings for last year's.

[A]

Teams, hence the post Super Bowl.

[B]

Yeah, but it could be post super bowl rankings for next year's teams. They do it in college.

[A]

Next year's super bowl hasn't happened yet.

[B]

It's still in college. You can't have the moment the college championship ends. They do next year's.

[A]

But this is the post super bowl rankings for this season.

[B]

Yeah, but I'm asking which rank. I said I wouldn't do.

[A]

I thought it was clear, but I guess not. I mean, I might as well just be speaking in Spanish to you.

[B]

I don't understand Spanish.

[A]

Nor this.

[B]

I don't understand anything, really. It all makes me angry.

[A]

So ESPN has the Bears 11th overall. They have them seventh in the NFC. So Eric at home had him at third in the NFC. They have them seventh in the NFL.

[B]

Six teams better than the Bears.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Six of last year's teams in the NFC, huh? All right.

[A]

Seattle, Seattle, La are still there.

[B]

Seattle, San Francisco.

[A]

San Francisco. Correct. They have them sixth overall.

[B]

San Francisco. They probably have Green bay better than 10th overall.

[A]

Okay, two more.

[B]

And they have Carolina.

[A]

Nope.

[B]

The Buccaneers.

[A]

Nope. So right now you have Seattle, L.A. 49ers. Green Bay. There are two other teams they have ranked ahead of the Bears.

[B]

The Eagles.

[A]

Eagles is one of them. And one more easy. Don't look outside the division.

[B]

Not the Lions.

[A]

They have the lines. Seattle one, LA three, Niner six. Detroit seven, Philly eight. Green Bay ten. Bears 11th.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Yeah. Again, there's no. Nothing more to it than just kind of see where people's perspectives are on the Chicago Bears post the super bowl for the season that just ended.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Not for next season because I don't.

[B]

I'm not going to. There's nothing worth fighting.

[A]

Oh, there's nothing to fight about or get.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

It's just interesting to see where it all. Where it all lays out as the Bears go into the 2026 season. Dan. With the hardest schedule, hardest strength of schedule going into the year.

[B]

And we always say we don't know how difficult a schedule is.

[A]

Correct.

[B]

Until later. However, though it's hard. You can just tell.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Packers, Vikings, Lions. We know that those are the divisional.

[A]

Games, but three teams that finished nine and eight or better.

[B]

Jets, Patriots, Saints, Buccaneers, Eagles, Jaguars, Bills, Dolphins, Falcons, Panthers, Seahawks.

[A]

Right. You're talking a lot of playoff teams or fringe almost playoff teams right there.

[B]

Yep.

[A]

Yeah. And I, and I was interested, I was reading too, about the opening weekend games and this writer on NFL.com had. And I hope they don't do this because I think it's. It's just too cliche. Seattle and the rams as Week 1 opponents because it's division matchup.

[B]

I like that idea that a listener gave us saying that Bears at Seattle to open.

[A]

So he actually had. This writer had the Bears as the second best possibility to play the defending champs.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

With the Chiefs as an outside chance based on Patrick Mahomes. But yeah, Bears going to Seattle, week one. I would prefer to see that than like the Rams. Rams. And yeah, I get it. I get the history of the season and the playoff game.

[B]

If you're. If you're in one of those groups or you're somebody who does one Bears trip a year, I know there are a lot of people that love looking at that schedule.

[A]

Is Seattle the spot at that time of year? Oh, yeah.

[B]

Oh, my God. If that's opening weekend and you're in the first week of September in Seattle, that's your trip. Then you can do a whole thing. You could go there and drive up to Vancouver. You could even, I mean, go up.

[A]

I've never been to Vancouver.

[B]

I haven't either.

[A]

I want to go spend a lot.

[B]

Of time in Seattle, but not Vancouver.

[A]

Have you been to Montreal? Yes, I've never. And we're talking about a weekend in Montreal maybe this year.

[B]

Oh, dude, you have to do it. Absolutely. 100%. There are parts of Montreal that feel like old Europe, and you feel much farther away than you'd think you do. And it's an easy flight. You're still your. But it's. Montreal's great. Okay. Yeah.

[A]

Yeah. We're talking about maybe getting a weekend, but we also got to fit in a weekend in New York, too. We got to go see.

[B]

Never a bad reason.

[A]

Got to go see the play. John Ortiz is. You know, he did that Broadway.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So we have a standing invite for that. Got to make that happen. I think so. I don't know if we can do both. If we have to choose between one or the other, I think it's going to be New York again.

[B]

Yeah. There's not. There's never an excuse. There's. There's 20 flights a day.

[A]

It.

[B]

Just.

[A]

Because I need to. I need to go back and have more norms going.

[B]

Going to New York is like getting on a bus and going down Western Avenue. It's so easy.

[A]

Oh, dude. We were talking about pizza the other night. We. We're actually looking at the calendar to find a day just to drive up to beer church. Just for the day.

[B]

Why not?

[A]

Just to go have lunch. Like, that's how bad. We're both craving the pizza.

[B]

Then go.

[A]

We're going to. I said we're looking at a day on the calendar.

[B]

Life is short.

[A]

We got to find a day because there's, you know, nine basketballs every Saturday. There's 10 on Sundays.

[B]

And you got to get to the point where at least one of those kids can drive or.

[A]

Yeah, it's called age. And they're not there yet.

[B]

Just have them drive 13 each other and.

[A]

Yeah, we're not living in some farm in Arkansas where they can drive the track.

[B]

Get them a golf cart or something. Something. He's allowed to drive.

[A]

The Schomburg down.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Down 53. The golf cart.

[B]

Yeah. Yep. But, yeah, definitely should do all. The answer to those things I know at this point in our life is.

[A]

Yes, we're planning it. It's not a matter of if.

[B]

It's just how good is norms, though.

[A]

It's so good. I'm really glad you turned me on to that.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I'm glad I asked you about it, too.

[B]

Yeah. That was kind of really. Before all this.

[A]

Oh, that was. Yeah. December. December of 2016.

[B]

Yeah. Well, I lucked into it. I was just kind of asking around. I was wandering around Brooklyn, and then people said, yeah, this is. That norms is really worth it. And it was. It is.

[A]

It was great.

[B]

Oh, my God. Yeah.

[A]

All right. I also wanted to look at some draft stuff. And we looked at last week. Matt Miller put out his first two rounds.

[B]

Zion Young.

[A]

Zion Young was the name. So Chad Ruder of NFL.com put out his mock draft for the first three rounds. And I wanted to look at who he had for the Chicago Bears at 25 in the first round. He had Ohio State defensive tackle Kaden McDonald.

[B]

Kaden McDonald.

[A]

The second round, 57 overall. Jalen Kilgore, the safety from South Carolina.

[B]

Caden and a. Jalen. Okay.

[A]

And then 89. The Bears third round pick, Edge rusher from Penn State. Danny. Dennis Sutton are the three.

[B]

Wait, Danny and Dennis Sutton?

[A]

Dennis, hyphenated Sutton. Oh, okay. Yeah. No, not twin. They're not getting twins, Danny. Although, if there were twins, could you get them the same pick?

[B]

Like an entry in a. In a horse race?

[A]

Could you do that?

[B]

That'd be cool.

[A]

Like, if they're not conjoined, can you still take both brothers?

[B]

How good would a. Like a conjoined twin, like, center guard be?

[A]

Depends, right?

[B]

You couldn't pull.

[A]

I mean, are there we talking four legs or three legs?

[B]

Well, if it's Will Campbell, you know, just one. Just one. That'd be interesting. Or you have a.

[A]

Depending how I feel. Would you be able to. If they. So if there was four leg, would you be able to do, like, two balls and, like, one's a. Like a. Like a phony ball and.

[B]

No.

[A]

Which one? Are we gonna snap?

[B]

No.

[A]

Oh, you couldn't do that. No.

[B]

Don't be crazy now.

[A]

Couldn't do a trick. Don't take it crazy.

[B]

Don't take the conjoined twins and make it center. Now you make it crazy.

[A]

Or would you have them.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Would you. Would you have one play center, one play guard?

[B]

That's what I was thinking.

[A]

They could double team really well, but.

[B]

If they count for two, that would be bad. They have to count for one.

[A]

I think the best possible scenario would be attached at, like, the left and.

[B]

Right butt cheek, but only by a long flexible cord. They wouldn't, like, be attached. Attached. They would have a long.

[A]

Well, that's what conjoined twins are. There isn't.

[B]

Not the ones I'm imagining. And they count for one. It's a cap loophole.

[A]

I wasn't going to, but I just wanted to make it available to you.

[B]

What?

[A]

Do you want to know anything about these three or no?

[B]

Sure. We might as well. I've got Kaden McDonald. I want to know if they're good. Kaden McDonald, Jalen Kilgore and Danny Dennis Sutton.

[A]

All right. Kaden McDonald. Apparently, everything clicked for McDonald in 2025. He was thrust into his starting role following the departure of last year's draft class. He anchored the Buckeyes defense that finished number one nationally in total defense, scoring defense, rushing defense. Here's the story. 65 tackles, eight tackles for loss, three sacks, two forced fumbles. Across another dominant Ohio State campaign. He was named unanimous All American and the Big Tens defensive lineman of the year while earning semifinalist recognition for the outlanded trophy. His best performances came on the biggest stages including a career high eight tackles against top ranked Texas in the season opener and another eight tackle effort against Penn State. Off the field, McDonald has served as an ambassador for Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Ohio. Demonstrating the character. Is he related? And maturity. That's what I first thought, but I thought he's one guy's a clown.

[B]

He's a descendant of the original McDonald.

[A]

I don't think so.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Because. Who was that guy who founded McDonald's?

[B]

Ray Kroc.

[A]

Yeah, so that's not. Yeah, that's different last names. I know. He did McDonald's and then shoes.

[B]

The shoe empire. Took everybody by surprise.

[A]

Made out of old burgers.

[B]

Good one, Ray. I like it. Why do they have holes in them?

[A]

Don't worry about it.

[B]

Part of the bit.

[A]

Demonstrating the character and maturity that NFL organizations covet in the locker rooms.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Overall, 87.4 out of 100 overall ranking.

[B]

And height. And weight.

[A]

Yes, he has them.

[B]

He has both height and weight.

[A]

Correct.

[B]

Good. He has dimensionality.

[A]

One of his strengths. He exists.

[B]

He has actual measurable mass.

[A]

Let's take a look here. Dan. He's six foot three.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And he's 326 pounds.

[B]

I like it.

[A]

That's Suwanee, Georgia.

[B]

A large man.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

All right, now tell me about Jalen Kilgore.

[A]

Okay. What do you want to know about him?

[B]

Is he good at football?

[A]

This says bad at football. No. Kilgore's sophomore campaign showcased his ball hawking capabilities as he snagged five interceptions to lead the SEC and tie for fourth nationally. His nose for the football proved clutch as he sealed victories against both Old Dominion and Missouri with game clinching interceptions. The 6 to 219 pound defender continued his consistent production with 48 tackles including 3 tackles for loss while starting 11 of 13 games, his impactful play earned him second team all SEC recognition at what position specifically? What position specifically in football?

[B]

6:2, 2:19.

[A]

He is a man zone free safety.

[B]

Okay. Could. Does he have the coverage ability to also play nickel corner? Because I would like to know. I want everybody to be able to theoretically play multiple positions.

[A]

So he's overall rating of an 83.7 out of 100. Offensive or defensive rating of.

[B]

That doesn't mean anything.

[A]

No, no, no. I'm looking.

[B]

The ratings don't mean anything to me.

[A]

Coverage.

[B]

All right. Six two two, 20. Okay.

[A]

Looks like. So his greatest strength here is run defense.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

Is what they show zone coverage. Yeah. I mean but it looks a little bit above average is how they're.

[B]

They're showing. We'll remember the name. Yeah, maybe I'll forget the name and then I'll remember the name. Yep. Jalen Kilgore. Now that leaves us Danny. Dennis Sutton.

[A]

Yep. Four years with the Nittany Lions, Dennis Sutton appeared in 54 games with significant playing time, accumulating 127 tackles, 34 and a half tackles for loss, 23 and a half sacks. Dan.

[B]

It's pretty good. Yep.

[A]

Seven forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, two interceptions and seven pass breakups. Is two sack performance. Ooh, that's impressive. Oh, of the quarter. Okay. Sacks in the. Not two sacks. He played in the Pinstripe bowl against Clemson. Capped his Penn State career with the same kind of production that defined his journey as a five star recruit to an established Big Ten pass rusher.

[B]

All right.

[A]

He leaves a state college as one of the program's most accomplished defensive linemen of the James Franklin era. Any consistent year over year improvements and reputation for elevating his game when the lights were at their brightest. And he is. Let's see he. And see if he has any measurables, if he does exist. Yes, he does. He has height and weight. You want to hear him?

[B]

I would actually like to hear both height and weight.

[A]

He's 6, 5 and he's 268 pounds.

[B]

That is a Dennis Allen set of measurements.

[A]

Yeah, it is. And that's a, that's a third round pick, number 89.

[B]

All right. Okay. We'll take all that under advisement.

[A]

Yeah, we'll keep, keep looking at stuff as mock drafts come through and we're putting together something, something fun for the draft season. So we'll see what we can develop here on 312 sports.

[B]

I cannot wait because that's what matters. Next. The pro days will be coming. The combine will be here before you know it, and they'll be talking about overrated shrimp cocktail at St. Elmo's Steakhouse.

[A]

Yeah. We're talking about Diego Pavia a lot.

[B]

We're not going to be talking about Diego Pavia a lot.

[A]

Yeah. When we get closer to draft day, we're going to have an hour dedicated each day to Diego Pavia. We're going to do a special Diego Pavia podcast, the Pavcast. The Pavcast. The Pavia cost.

[B]

The pavia cost with Roel and Javier.

[A]

Yeah. And every time that you open your mouth, you have to take a shot of alcohol.

[B]

Right. But does it like, does it depend what kind?

[A]

Yeah. Rubbing not good for the old eyes.

[B]

No, thanks. That'll do it.

[A]

I said drink it. Don't burn your eyes.

[B]

For forward progress today here on 312Sports. Forward progress is stopped.

[A]

Ted 2:19, 219 forward progress. A Chicago Bears podcast with Dan Bernstein and MattDiCaliCola on 3:1:2Sports.