Chicago Sun-Times · Mar 20, 2021
Without Kyle Fuller, Bears are down to 1 homegrown first-round pick
The Bears are parting with cornerback Kyle Fuller.And then there was one.
When the Bears decided Thursday to part with cornerback Kyle Fuller rather than pay a $20 million salary-cap charge this year, they whittled the number of homegrown first-round draft picks still on their roster to one: inside linebacker Roquan Smith, who was selected eighth in 2018.
Their failure to draft and develop first-rounders has hastened their plunge into cap hell. General manager Ryan Pace has had to pay free agents to replace failed first-round choices to the tune of almost a quarter-billion dollars — and that’s just counting replacements still on the Bears’ roster.
