The Bears restructured the contracts of tight end Cole Kmet and offensive lineman Jonah Jackson to open up salary cap space before the 2026 NFL Draft, per Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.
Chicago converted $7.65MM of Kmet’s $8.9MM salary into a bonus that was prorated across the remainder of the contract. His cap number was reduced by $3.8MM in 2026 and raised in 2027 by the same amount, resulting in $7.8MM and $15.4MM hits in each year, respectively.
Jackson’s contract was restructured in a similar manner, just with different numbers. His 2026 salary was reduced by $13.5MM and converted into a bonus, half of which will be moved to the Bears’ 2027 cap table. Jackson’s cap hit is now $12.8 MM for this season; it will go up to $23.8MM next year. Both moves were traditional restructures that did not add void years to the contracts to maximize the 2026 cap savings.
The Bears entered draft week with the least cap space in the NFL. If they wanted to trade or acquire a player during the draft, Fitzgerald explains, they would not have been financially permitted to do so. These restructures ensured that Chicago’s options remained open throughout the weekend.
No such trade materialized, but the restructures were not for naught. The team will still need to sign their rookie class, which would have forced them to open up cap room after the draft anyway.
The restructures turn next offseason – and therefore, this upcoming season – into a pivotal one for both players.
Kmet’s future in Chicago became murky as soon as they drafted Colston Loveland in the first round last year. He saw a significant drop in playing time and production and will likely cede more ground in 2026. His $15.4MM cap hit will be too expensive for a No. 2 tight end, and though the Bears could approach Kmet about a pay cut, he may prefer to hit the open market for the first time in his career. He could also become a trade target for teams seeking a proven, reliable tight end who can provide starting-caliber play as a pass-catcher and a blocker.
The Bears acquired Jackson from the Rams last offseason and signed him to a three-year, $54.5MM extension. He started all 17 games at right guard, reestablishing his value after missing most of the previous season due to injury. He is slated to take up the same role in 2026, and a repeat performance should set up him up for another extension closer to the top of the still-rising guard market.
What are the bears doing lol. Jackson is a walking injury risk and Kmet should have been traded. Not restructured
It was odd to me that the Bears basically drafted Gordon and Kmet’s replacements in Muhammed and Roush and could have used them to move up from 57 or 60 to get a D line upgrade. This would have been the time to do it. Trading Jackson makes no sense because he was good last year and healthy. They have capable B/U’s for him in Mcfadden and Newman so they can still move on from him next year because of his contract which was structured so that they could AFTER this year anyway. Now it will cost them more to do it. Gordon is easy to walk away from still or trade so as deep as the Bears are at DB it could still happen. Ben Johnson and Allen have no loyalty to Gordon or JJ who he won without them both last year so it might be easier to move on from. Next year the Bears can save over 30 million bucks by dropping them. It’ll be harder to trade them next year. They both better show up to camp in shape and ready to work because the Country Club Eberlose ran is gone.
I’ve never been a huge Kmet fan, but he thrived under Johnson. Kmet proved his value in a number of ways he hadn’t really established previously, including some of the more non-stat-friendly tasks like downfield blocking. Plus, Johnson likes going strong with multiple tightend sets, so as long as Kmet’s salary doesn’t become an anchor and he continues to thrive in Johnson’s offense, it’d be silly to blithely discard him.
As far as Jackson goes, the Bears OLine was solid last year. Don’t do anything to muck up the consistency. Already a blow to lose Dalman to retirement.