What an Uncapped 2010 NFL Means To Free Agency and the Chicago Bears

When I first heard that the 2010 NFL season might be played without a salary cap, I immediately thought that the George Steinbrenners of the football world would come out like vultures and suck up all the free agents, leaving everyone else in their midst.

But upon closer scrutiny, an uncapped season, which is a certainty if a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) isn't ratified before March 5, is actually something the players union opposes.

That's because many of the players who are currently scheduled to be unrestricted free agents will instead by restricted.  

In capped seasons, a player whose contract has expired becomes an unrestricted free agent if he has four or more accrued seasons. In the uncapped year, a player whose contract has expired becomes an unrestricted free agent only if he has six or more accrued seasons.

In all, this will change the free agent status of 212 players from unrestricted to restricted for this season.

Another potential limiting factor for players is that each club may designate one additional Transition Player in an uncapped year. 

This will likely result in less player movement, not more. Likewise, while teams can spend whatever they want, there will be no salary floor. Without a minimum, some teams will go on the cheap.

And if all of that wasn't enough, there is the so-called Final Eight Plan.

During the uncapped year, the eight clubs that make the divisional playoffs in the previous season have additional restrictions that limit their ability to sign unrestricted free agents from other clubs.  

In general, the four clubs participating in the championship games (Minnesota, New Orleans, Indianapolis and the Jets), are limited in the number of free agents that they may sign (insert complicated formula here). 

So what does all of this mean to a team like the Chicago Bears, who have no first or second round draft picks, and thus will be forced to use free agency and trades in an effort to get better?

In short, it means that help is not likely going to come from free agency.

Specifically, let's look at two of the clubs' needs. I still say we need a true number one wideout, despite this being a supposed area of strength for the team (at least if you believe Jerry Angelo and Lovie Smith).

So, while Brandon Marshall might be very attractive to the Bears based on how good he is and his connection to Jay Cutler, the Broncos wideout will not be an unrestricted free agency if 2010 is an uncapped year.

Since Denver is unlikely to want him to leave, that takes one potential target away.

Another obvious area of concern is the offensive line.

In looking at the free agency list in an uncapped year, not a lot of obvious help is there. The best tackle of the class is Chad Clifton, but he just suffered through an injury plagued season. And the best guard may be Kevin Mawae, but he's 38.

Having gone through the Orlando Pace experiment, I don't want to see any more old dudes coming to this team.

The rest of them may not be an obvious improvement over what we already have.

So, as you can see, unless a new CBA is in place before March, there doesn't appear to be much help on the horizon from free agency.

And, let's face it; since the agreement doesn't expire until March 2011, it is highly doubtful that a new one will be in place so soon.

Meanwhile, the Bears go into this season with basically the same group of players, the same defensive scheme, and the same head coach. That's not exactly what I would call a recipe for success.