With the NFL free agency period beginning March 12 at 4 p.m. EST, the Chicago Bears must make roster cuts to free up room on their salary cap. The Bears’ first two roster moves came on Friday, with the releases of two veterans starting with Gerald Everett, per Ari Meirov on X.
“The #Bears informed veteran TE Gerald Everett he is being released after one season,” Meirov wrote. “The move will save $5.5M in salary cap space.”
The #Bears informed veteran TE Gerald Everett he is being released after one season. The move will save $5.5M in salary cap space. pic.twitter.com/QAYg3zU5hv
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) February 21, 2025
Not long after the Bears informed Everett they were releasing him, they followed suit with veteran defensive end DeMarcus Walker, per Meirov on X, who signed with the Chicago in 2023.
The #Bears are releasing veteran DE DeMarcus Walker after two seasons, during which he started 29 games, including all 17 last year, per @MikeGarafolo. The move saves $5.25M in cap space. https://t.co/iuNZETJZhW pic.twitter.com/WNkh21xJH3
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) February 21, 2025
As a team near the top of the NFL in salary cap, the Bears haven’t been overly aggressive in free agency since Ryan Poles took over.
However, with the releases of both Everett and Walker — two free agents Poles brought in — Chicago looks to re-tool under new head coach Ben Johnson.
Looking at what both players did for the Bears, one roster cut makes a little more sense than the other.
Should the Bears have released Gerald Everett, DeMarcus Walker?
Although the Bears should be picky with who earns roster spots in 2025, one of these cuts was more impactful than the other.
Admittedly, neither Everett nor Walker were overly productive players for the Bears. So, when looking at who could be potential roster cuts for Chicago in 2025, these two names weren’t overly shocking to see get cut.
Releasing these two players netted the Bears almost $11 million, which has their 2025 salary cap number growing, per Michael Ginnitti on X.
“The pending releases of TE Gerald Everett & DE DeMarcus Walker free up $10.75M of cap for the #Bears, who now project toward $75M of Top 51 space heading toward March,” Ginnitti wrote.
For Everett, his release made a good deal of sense.
He signed with the Bears in the 2024 offseason, making an incredibly minimal impact during his time.
Everett caught just eight passes for 36 yards through 17 weeks, appearing in just 22% of offensive snaps.
So, it wasn’t overly shocking for them to release him.
Walker — on the other hand — might’ve been an incorrect roster move by the Bears’ upper management.
In 2024 alone, Walker totaled three-and-a-half sacks, which matched his 2023 number. Now, that wouldn’t be all that bad, but Walker started in all 17 games for the Bears in 2024, whereas he had just 12 starts in 2023.
So, although he was a good rotational piece, his release could’ve tipped the Bears’ hand for what they plan on doing in the 2025 NFL Draft — or free agency. It’d be shocking if they just made this move to clear cap space.
The more likely probability is that they cut Walker because of the free agent signing or draft pick — or both — they’re playing on adding to the team in 2025.
Either way, the Bears seem to be clearing cap space and making room for an aggressive offseason of adding talent to their roster.
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