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The Bears reportedly are ready to part ways with 31-year-old offensive tackle Bobby Massie.
According to a report from the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Bears will not be bringing Massie back in 2021.
The #Bears are not likely to exercise the option on OT Bobby Massie’s contract, another casualty of the cap crunch, source said. He’ll be a FA, saving them more than $5M vs. the cap & putting a starting caliber tackle on the market in a year when OTs are more valuable than ever.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 8, 2021
The move will save additional cap space for the Bears in 2021, which they can allocate elsewhere. Massie was set to make $9.3 million in 2021 on a contract that was supposed to last through 2022. By cutting him, the Bears will save about $5 million in salary cap space next season.
Massie has played for the Bears since 2016. He played in 15 games or more in each of his first three seasons in Chicago. Injuries limited him to 10 games in 2019 and eight games in 2020. Massie played primarily right tackle for the Bears.
The move puts a veteran tackle on the free agent market. It also makes way for the Bears to potentially fit a rookie tackle into the starting lineup, should they draft one in April. They still have left tackle Charles Leno under contract, although he is also a potential cap casualty.
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