Biggest events on Bears calendar from now to NFL draft, and beyond

Biggest events on Bears calendar from now to NFL draft, and beyond originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago

The Super Bowl is over and now the entire league has eyes to 2024. The Bears have been focused on the future for some time as they spent January reshaping their coaching staff. They’ve spent plenty of time– and will spend even more time in the coming weeks– considering what to do with the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. But there’s a lot more on their calendar than simply deciding between Caleb Williams, Drake Maye or Justin Fields at quarterback.

With the big game in the rearview, here’s what next for the Bears to focus on as they get ready for the 2024 season.

FRANCHISE TAG WINDOW OPENS: FEB. 20

The franchise tag is a tool NFL teams can use to retain a player for one season in case they’re not able to reach an agreement on a contract extension. There are two types of franchise tags, and even a transition tag, but to keep things simple the non-exclusive tag is the most common tag that teams use. Under that tag, a player earns the average of the top-five cap hits of that player’s positions or 120% of the player’s previous year’s salary, whichever is greater.

Players are free to negotiate with other teams under the non-exclusive tag, and if they agree to a deal then the player’s current team has an opportunity to match the deal. If the current team does not match, then the player’s new team has to send the previous team two first-round picks. For that reason, franchise tagged players typically stay put or hold out for a new deal.

There’s been widespread speculation that the Bears may franchise tag Jaylon Johnson if they’re not able to reach an agreement on a new deal for him.

NFL COMBINE: FEB. 27 – MAR. 4

The underwear olympics. This is where all the top prospects in the nation get together to run drills like the 40-yard dash, and show off their strength with workouts like bench press. There will be buzz from the displays of athleticism….


Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/biggest-events-bears-calendar-now-183748736.html

Author : NBC Sports Chicago

Publish date : 2024-02-12 18:37:48

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