Chicago Bears: First 5 Things They Must Do When the Lockout Is Lifted

Attention, Chicago Bears front office staff—Jerry Angelo, Tim Ruskell and Cliff Stein—your vacation may be over soon.

Once the lockout is lifted, all NFL teams, including the Beats, will have a lot to do in a shorter period of time than usual.

Once the new rules are in place, there will be designated periods for teams to do things like sign their rookies, explore the free agent market and get ready for the 2011 season.

Here's what will need to happen after the owners and players come to an agreement in principle:

• Attorneys will dot the i's and cross the t's in the contract and both sides will have to approve the deal
• Everyone will have to be apprised of the new rules and get below the projected salary cap of $123 million
• Teams will need to spend to reach the salary floor, which could be $110  million

So, with all this to do, assuming a new deal is ratified, what are the first five things the Bears braintrust must do? Well, read on and you will find out, my friend.

Determine How Much Money to Spend

Once the contract details are finalized, the salary cap is expected to be $123 million and the salary floor $110 million. For the Bears, this means they will have to spend about $30 million just to reach the floor.

That is good news because the team still has holes, despite the 11-5 record last season.

What Angelo and company need to do first is decide how to allocate those funds. Among their choices: draft picks and free agents, including their own. 

Which leads us to... 

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Sign Their Draft Picks

The first thing the Bears need to do is to get their draft choices under contract so they can get in camp.

With a shorter timeframe due to the lockout, there is less time for Bears coaches to evaluate who can make an impact in 2011, so it's imperative to get the players in camp as soon as possible once the lockout if lifted.

This should be a fairly straightforward thing to do, as the new rookie salary wage scale should make this relatively easy.

Specifically, the Bears want to see what Gabe Carimi, Stephen Paea and Chris Conte can do right away and all three are expected to be immediate contributors, if not starters.

Keep Their Own Free Agents

Angelo has to decide which of his free agents he wants to sign. You would figure that he has had ample time to discuss this with head coach Lovie Smith and should be fairly certain who he wants back.

Of course, that may not be his choice, as some of the Bears free agents may generate interest from other teams. Plus, they only have so much money, and while $30 million may sound like a lot, some of their needs may require outside help to fulfill.

So who are the Bears priorities? The top two are Anthony Adams and Olin Kruetz.

Adams does the dirty work and Kruetz is a leader and the Bears don't really have a solid replacement for him at this point. Rashied Davis, Brian Iwuh and Corey Graham are valuable special teams contributors, although Graham may leave because the Bears aren't inclined to pay him as a corner.

Nick Roach may also be in the mix, for the simple reason that the Bears need linebackers.

Meanwhile, punter Brad Maynard had a tough year in 2010 but is still valuable at placing kicks inside the 20 yard line. 

In short, the lockout probably means that more players re-sign with their current teams.

Try to Sign Free Agents

There have been many articles written on this site, including from yours truly, about how the Bears should target a wide receiver like Sidney Rice, Plaxico Burress, or even Vincent Jackson if he is granted free agency. Other names like Santana Moss and Randy Moss have been thrown around as well.

While I have my doubts about the Bears bringing in a veteran wideout, I do think it is something they need to do.

There are several who will be available, and really, does it make sense not to surround Jay Cutler with the best offensive weapons?

Meanwhile, they need help on the offensive line and there is help available. J'Marcus Webb is expected to be the starting left tackle, with Carimi on the right, but a guard like Logan Mankins should be considered if he is granted free agency.

The Bears may also add a defensive lineman such as Cullen Jenkins.

Explore Trades and Undrafted Free Agents

Once the Bears sign their draft picks, decide which of their own free agents they wish to retain, and scour the free agent market for help, they may still find themselves short.

The Bears have 47 players on their roster. If training-camp rosters are expanded to 90, as expected, they must sign 43 more. Some of these may be from the pool of undrafted players or through trades.

Carolina Panthers receiver Steve Smith wants a trade, and even though he's 32 and coming off a disappointing season, he fits the Mike Martz offense and probably can be had for a future draft pick.

Undrafted free agents are a way to bolster depth and lots of teams have been successful in employing the use of those players.

Last year, the Super Bowl champion Packers (ouch, it hurts to write that) used Sam Shields and Frank Zombo to help their team and neither was drafted.

Fifty-one rookie free agents made opening-day rosters last season. Nearly three times that number had been signed by season’s end.