The Chicago Bears have trimmed the active roster to 53 players, and only nine days remain until the season opener against the Tennessee Titans at Soldier Field.
Were there any surprises about who made the team — and who didn’t? Brad Biggs answers that and much more in his weekly Bears mailbag.
Are you surprised by any of the roster moves they made or players they kept? — @jtbcubs
I don’t think anything the Bears did in establishing an initial 53-man roster Tuesday was a surprise, and I’ll get into some specific questions folks submitted below. I had projected that Velus Jones would be waived, but the Bears kept the 2022 third-round draft pick. That probably signals they have plans for him beyond returning kickoffs and other areas on special teams.
Jones got a late start at running back in training camp and performed well in the preseason finale against the Kansas City Chiefs, but that production came against defenders who won’t be on the field when the defending Super Bowl champions begin the season. It also came behind offensive linemen who won’t be playing for the Bears.
“He made it just by his efforts and the production he had in practice, in the preseason games, and his willingness to be able to adjust and adapt and then be able to get that done,” coach Matt Eberflus said. “It comes down to him being able to do it and his willingness to want to and the work ethic.
“He’s going to be a guy for us that we can use in multiple ways. We can use him in the backfield, we can spread him out, we can do a lot of different things with him. That’s, to me, a benefit. Try to defend that when he comes in the game is a little bit different than just a normal type of receiver or guy that can line up in the backfield. I think it creates a little bit of a time on task, practice-wise, for the opponent. Also preparation-wise in the film study.”
A natural question is who comes off the field to get Jones on the field? Jones had roles on special teams last year, so he should be on the game-day roster, and if offensive coordinator Shane Waldron can fold some wrinkles using Jones into the game plan, it makes sense. But it’s difficult to imagine him being more than a gadget player on offense.
Perhaps Jones can have more success than he did the previous two seasons. It’s difficult to give up on a Day 2 draft pick, especially one with Jones’ combination of speed and strength.
Why wouldn’t Ryan Poles wait for Darrell Taylor and/or Chris Williams to be released in order to add them without trading future draft picks? Those picks have value. — Louie, Rockford
Fair question. Poles has shown a willingness to move draft picks near the roster cutdown, dealing a sixth-round pick for interior offensive lineman Dan Feeney a year ago when the team was shaping its initial 53-man roster. In this instance, the Bears traded their 2025 sixth-round pick to the Seattle Seahawks to acquire Taylor and sent another 2025 sixth-rounder (obtained from the Miami Dolphins in the Chase Claypool trade) to the Cleveland Browns for Williams and a 2025 seventh-round pick.
That leaves the Bears with one 2025 sixth-round pick, acquired from the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Justin Fields trade. If Fields is on the field for more than 50% of the Steelers’ offensive plays this season, that pick improves to a Round 4 selection.
I understand your point and it’s valid, but it’s fair to say the Bears probably assessed the chances Taylor and Williams would be available if they didn’t trade for them. Could another team have traded for the players? Could the Bears have lost out in a waiver claim, in which they were ninth? Also, when a team acquires a player whom the head coach worked with previously — Williams was with the Indianapolis Colts for two seasons when Matt Eberflus was the defensive coordinator — it’s easy to speculate that the coach encouraged the general manager to pull the trigger on the deal.
If Poles really likes some players at the back end of the draft board in April, he always can acquire additional picks in Rounds 6 or 7 without paying too much. He has been very nimble during the draft, moving both up and down, and it’s not like the Bears will be facing a shortage of picks.
You can’t deny the Bears had a critical need for a defensive tackle, and it remains to be seen if Williams can fill that role or when Zacch Pickens (groin) will be healthy. And the depth issues at defensive end opposite Montez Sweat has been a topic since before the draft. Taylor potentially could help answer questions there, and the cost was minimal when considering it’s difficult to find treasures on the waiver wire. The Bears have claimed eight players after initial cuts over the last three years (none this year), and only cornerback Josh Blackwell remains on the roster.
Where you don’t want to be short on picks is Days 1 and 2, and the Bears are in good shape for 2025 with the following inventory:
- Round 1
- Round 2
- Round 2 (from Carolina Panthers)
- Round 3
- Round 5
- Round 6* (from Steelers)
- Round 7 (from Browns)
*could become a fourth-rounder if Justin Fields plays more than 50% of the Steelers offensive snaps this season
I would have preferred the Bears found a way to keep tight end Brenden Bates. Whether that meant cutting Marcedes Lewis or carrying four tight ends. Explain this to me. — DeAndre T., South Side
My hunch is, of all the players the Bears released Tuesday, Bates was one they really wanted to bring back on the practice squad. The undrafted rookie from Kentucky had a nice showing in training camp and the preseason. He profiles as a Y tight end, so I’m not sure the Bears lost the kind of passing-game juggernaut some think when the New York Jets claimed him on waivers. It was a risk exposing Bates to waivers, and the Bears didn’t get their wish.
Had the Bears kept Bates on the 53-man roster, I don’t believe there would have been a spot for him on the game-day roster, not to begin the season anyway. That was probably one factor in the decision. Lewis, 40, remains a top blocker, and when I chatted with pro scouts during the season last year, they marveled at his ability to remain so effective in that role at his age.
Can Bates eventually become that guy? I don’t know. You’d be comparing him to one of the elite blocking tight ends of the last two decades. I don’t have an issue with the Bears factoring Lewis’ locker-room intangibles into the decision. It’s a young locker room and Lewis is a respected voice for teammates.
One position the Bears could have gone lighter to carry four tight ends is defensive end, where they elected to keep six. In that scenario, you’re probably looking at a decision between Bates and Daniel Hardy, who led the team in the preseason with 3½ sacks. Hardy has an easier path to being on the field for regular-season games than Bates would have had.
Ultimately, it’s a good thing when other teams are plucking a player or two or three off your roster in the waiver process. That means the depth is strong enough that some of your castoffs are good enough to land jobs elsewhere. The San Francisco 49ers and Green Bay Packers each had a league-high three players claimed Wednesday. What do they have in common? Good depth on both sides of the ball. We’ll see how Bates fares with the Jets.
You’ve said before that when a team has two quarterbacks, it has none. What do you say about a team that has six defensive ends? Does it only have one? — Terry S., Colorado Springs, Colo.
The Bears decided to attack their issue opposite Montez Sweat with numbers. They have DeMarcus Walker, newly acquired Darrell Taylor, Dominique Robinson, Austin Booker and Daniel Hardy. They also have Jacob Martin on injured reserve, and he was designated to return from a toe injury.
I would be surprised if the Bears go the entire season with six ends on the roster. That doesn’t seem practical when you consider injuries at other positions that will necessitate roster juggling in the weeks and months to come. For now they’re keeping as many options as they can to find the right match and rotation, with Sweat being the key. Any player who shows a hot hand will get more run.
The end situation is what it is for this season. I might be a little more concerned about the depth on the interior of the defensive line. The Bears seemingly covered themselves there by trading for Chris Williams and adding Sam Roberts to the practice squad Thursday with the intention of elevating him to the game-day roster. Roberts comes from the New England Patriots. With Zacch Pickens still sidelined by a groin injury, the Bears are a little thin behind Andrew Billings and Gervon Dexter and will need those starters to remain healthy.
Why didn’t the Bears bring Greg Stroman back on the practice squad? — Omar, Chicago
A couple of things could be in play here. For starters, Stroman might be better off waiting for a potential 53-man roster spot with another team or a practice-squad opening with a team that isn’t as deep at cornerback. It was a numbers crunch for Stroman, and while he has proved solid as a backup nickel, he doesn’t have a ton of value on special teams and that was probably an issue.
Second, as a veteran, Stroman would cost more on the practice squad than undrafted rookie Reddy Steward, whom the Bears brought back. If they suffer an injury or two at cornerback, it’s fair to say they’re covered with pretty good depth.
I am glad the Bears re-signed wide receiver Collin Johnson to the practice squad, but wouldn’t he be a better option on the 53-man roster than Velus Jones or Travis Homer? — Will D., Northbrook
Jones and Homer have a lot more versatility and experience on special teams. There isn’t a clear path to playing time on offense for Johnson right now unless there is an injury or two. Johnson was impressive early in training camp and had a nice showing in the preseason opener. But Homer and Jones are established on special teams and offer more versatility to the game-day roster.
Will the Bears try to sign a veteran quarterback to help with development? — @dillonbirch__
When the team did not re-sign Brett Rypien to the practice squad, my hunch was he was hunting an opportunity on a 53-man roster elsewhere. That happened when the Minnesota Vikings signed Rypien on Thursday. Plan B for the Bears was adding undrafted rookie Austin Reed to the practice squad. I’m not surprised the Bears opted for Reed instead of a player with more experience.
Personally, I think the idea of signing players to mentor other players is generally a little overblown. Is it helpful? Yes. Is it overrated? No question. Players show up to play. Coaches are there to devote 100% of their time to player development, and the Bears have no shortage of those in the quarterback meeting room.
Matt Eberflus spends ample time with the QBs. Then you have offensive coordinator Shane Waldron, passing game coordinator Thomas Brown, quarterbacks coach Kerry Joseph and offensive assistants for QBs/wide receivers Ryan Griffin and Robbie Picazo. That’s plenty of people in the room along with QB2 Tyson Bagent to help rookie Caleb Williams along.
