Commanders’ Andrew Wylie Accepts Pay Cut..

Veteran offensive tackle Andrew Wylie agreed to a revised contract with the Commanders that reduces his 2025 compensation by $3.75MM, according to OverTheCap.

In return, the Commanders guaranteed $3.5MM of Wylie’s existing money, per ESPN’s John Keim, including a $1MM signing bonus and a fully-guaranteed $2.5MM base salary for the 2025 season. The seven-year veteran can earn $255k in per-game roster bonuses and and $250k in workout bonuses, $50k of which is new money.

Wylie will now count for $6.6MM against the Commanders’ salary cap, bringing the team to over $28MM in available cap space.

The renegotiated contract represents a growing trend around the NFL of teams asking veteran players to take a pay cut in the final year of their contract when little or none of their salary is guaranteed. Players often have little leverage in these situations, especially after the first wave of free agency has passed. Other teams have less money to spend with fewer needs to fill, meaning a smaller market if the player is released. Players also may not want to change teams after multiple years in the same city due to their familiarity with their coaches, teammates, and scheme, as well as personal and family considerations.

Wylie, however, had a legitimate argument to reject the pay cut and stay at his previous salary after starting 29 games for the Commanders over the last two years. He is not considered an elite tackle, but his $10.4MM cap hit still represented a solid value for a proven veteran at a premium position. The Commanders also have plenty of cap space remaining to sign their 2025 draft class and fill out their roster, even after trading for Deebo Samuel and making several signings in free agency.

Instead, Wylie opted to stay in Washington for additional guarantees, though the deal does not contain incentives that would allow him to make up the lost money. He is still slated to become an unrestricted free agent after the 2025 season.

Bears Trade Pitch Helps Packers Land Top WR at No. 10 for Draft Haul..

The Chicago Bears should have opportunities to trade back from No. 10 overall in the 2025 NFL draft if too many of their blue-chip prospects are taken off the board before they make their selection. Is there any world where the Green Bay Packers are a team that comes calling, looking to make a rare, in-division exchange?

The Bears and Packers have traded very few times throughout their rivalry and have not done so since their 1998 exchange, in which Chicago acquired running back Glyn Milburn in exchange for a seventh-rounder that Green Bay used to draft Donald Driver.

The reasons why are also straightforward. While both teams have shown an openness to making in-division deals with the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions, the Bears and Packers have been locked in a rivalry for more than a century, one that stands as a core tenet of their respective fanbases. Rarely are there reasons to help one another out.

There is a chance that could change depending on how the board falls in 2025, though.

For the sake of this hypothetical, let’s say the Bears do not have any of their top choices left on the board when they are on the clock at No. 10 overall and decide to start fishing for trade opportunities that could net them an additional Day 2 pick. Let’s also assume the Packers find the motivation to trade up for the top receiver on their draft board.

Here’s one trade pitch that could make sense for both the Bears and Packers (that is fairly equitable in the evaluation of Over the Cap’s trade calculator):

The proposed trade: The Bears send the No. 10 pick, a 2025 seventh-rounder (No. 240) and a 2026 sixth-rounder to the Packers in exchange for the Nos. 23 and 54 picks.

Bears Could Add Multiple Starters via Packers Trade
Alright, maintain your gag reflexes about the Bears and Packers doing business together for a moment and consider the value that both sides could gain from this trade exercise.

The Bears might face a board that does not include Abdul Carter, Mason Graham, Will Campbell, Armand Membou, Ashton Jeanty or Tyler Warren after the first nine picks. Georgia’s Jalon Walker or another edge rusher may intrigue them, but their evaluations could also tell them that the better play is trading back and adding another Day 2 pick.