The Chicago Bears released linebacker Amen Ogbongbemiga on Thursday, which marked their first salary cap casualty of the 2026 offseason.
Ogbongbemiga signed with the Bears on a one-year deal back in 2024, and he earned a two-year, $5 million contract extension in 2025. He served primarily as a special teams contributor, but he did see some extended time on defense, alongside D’Marco Jackson, due to injuries to Tremaine Edmunds, T.J. Edwards and Noah Sewell.
Ogbongbemiga was set to cost $2.445 million in salary cap space in 2026. But following his release, the Bears have freed up $2.07 million in salary cap space while only losing $375,000 in dead money. While the NFL has yet to announce the official 2026 salary cap number (which is expected next week), Chicago is now projected to be $4.11 million over the cap.
But general manager Ryan Poles still has time to make some moves via contract restructures and/or additional releases to free up space. Some other potential salary cap casualties to keep an eye on include linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, tight end Cole Kmet and running backs D’Andre Swift and Roschon Johnson.
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears release Amen Ogbongbemiga: Salary cap impact
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