Durkin: Bears' 2016 Salary Cap Outlook

By Dan Durkin--

(CBS) With the start of the 2016 NFL season just days away, the Bears are well-positioned to add pieces to their talent-starved roster.

Across the league, teams will collectively have more than $900 million dollars available to reshape their rosters. For 2016, the team cap limit has been set at $155.27 million, an 8.36 percent jump from last season. The cap has grown by 24 percent since the 2013 season.

Narrowing the focus down to the Bears, general manager Ryan Pace has plenty of free space to work with.

The Bears carried over $867,589 from last year's cap. Adding in final incentive adjustments, the Bears' adjusted team cap total for 2016 is $156,588,879. Keeping in mind that the cap is a fluid situation, the Bears currently have 54 players under contract who total $111,142,759. Recall that in the offseason, teams are only required to account for their top 51 salaries, which brings the team total down to $109,792,759.

When the clock strikes 3 p.m next Wednesday, the Bears will have approximately $46.79 million in free cap space.

Here's an infographic of how their cap dollars are currently allocated (click to enlarge).

On March 12, the final $6 million of quarterback Jay Cutler's $54-million guarantee comes due, and his $16-million salary becomes fully guaranteed. The final $1 million stems from the restructure in 2014, when he converted $5 million of his base salary into a signing bonus, freeing up money for the team to sign defensive end Jared Allen.

Seeing that six of the team's top 10 cap hits are offensive players -- seven if you count Robbie Gould, who has the league's second-highest cap hit for kickers -- it's clear that the team has the space and need for an eight-figure playmaker on defense.

However, given all of the needs on both sides of the ball, Pace could opt to make a few targeted moves to plug holes in the starting lineup. Even with ample space, he will be measured as he treads in what he recently referred to as "dangerous water" in free agency.

Pace is confident that he and the new scouting department he's assembled over the past year have a sound plan as the embark on their first free agency together.

"I feel really good of where we're at right now as far as our preparation," Pace said at the NFL Scouting Combine. "Josh Lucas, Champ Kelly, our pro scouts Brad Obee, David Williams, they've done a great job of setting our UFA board. Now it's just a matter of being smart and calculated with how we approach it."

Last season, the Bears had mild success in free agency. They hit on outside linebacker Pernell McPhee but didn't fare so well with safety Antrel Rolle and receiver Eddie Royal. The team is seeking value within its scouting and financial parameters.

"Our challenge is identifying good players, but then identifying good values, too," Pace said. "The process for us, we stack our free-agent board, we identify the players that we'd like to target, and then we identify salary parameters where we think they fit in. We know when the gun goes off, and we're working outside of those parameters, it's gets a little uncomfortable. That's when you have to make a tough decision."

Who those players are and what those tough decisions might be will be revealed soon as the team prepares for a crucial offseason.

Dan Durkin covers the Bears for CBSChicago.com and is a frequent contributor to 670 The Score. Follow him on Twitter at @djdurkin