Chicago Bears 53-man Roster Projection: Promising pass rusher makes the cut after another impressive game
The Chicago Bears have just one more preseason game remaining until it's time to make the hard decisions throughout the roster.Although it's not been confirmed, the Bears should be expected to rest their starters on Thursday against the Kansas City Chiefs in order to allow the depth players a final opportunity to earn a spot […]
The Chicago Bears have just one more preseason game remaining until it's time to make the hard decisions throughout the roster.
Although it's not been confirmed, the Bears should be expected to rest their starters on Thursday against the Kansas City Chiefs in order to allow the depth players a final opportunity to earn a spot on the roster. Leading up to that game, here's a recent 53-man roster projection following the third preseason game.
Note: Players with an asterisk (*) were selected in the 2024 NFL Draft, players with two asterisks (**) were undrafted free agents signed by the team.
Quarterbacks (3)
Projected Starter: Caleb Williams*
Backups: Brett Rypien and Tyson Bagent
Out: Austin Reed**
Analysis: Caleb Williams looked strong in his two preseason outings against the Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals. How he handled the adversity on Saturday was the most impressive feat we've seen out of the rookie thus far.
Tyson Bagent played a lot more snaps in the last two preseason games and has easily locked up the QB2 job behind Williams, despite Brett Rypien's strong game in the preseason opener. I still feel like the Bears keep all three arms on the roster and carry UDFA Austin Reed on the practice squad.
Running Backs (5)
Projected Starters: D'Andre Swift and Khari Blasingame (FB)
Backups: Khalil Herbert, Roschon Johnson, and Ian Wheeler**
Out: Travis Homer
Analysis: D'Andre Swift was rarely used this weekend with Khalil Herbert taking the bulk of the snaps with the first team offense. And once again, we did not see Roschon Johnson on the field during the game.
Herbert remains a potential trade candidate, which could be why he's received so many touches in the preseason. If he's not traded, the Bears will of course keep all three backs, and full back Khari Blasingame. Ian Wheeler continues to be a sleeper worth watching in the room to potentially take Travis Homer's role.
Wide Receivers (6)
Projected Starters: DJ Moore, Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze*
Backups: Tyler Scott, Velus Jones Jr., and Collin Johnson
Out: Dante Pettis, Deandre Carter, Nsimba Webster, Freddie Swain, John Jackson**
Analysis: The starters in the room remain the same, including Velus Jones Jr., whom multiple people keep thinking is on the roster bubble. The Bears have big plans for Jones on kickoffs and are impressed with his work in the backfield. He's making it.
As for the potential other spot at the position, Collin Johnson still looks like the most impressive option, even if he didn't play the last two games. Dante Pettis has looked impressive offensively the last two weeks, but hasn't shown enough as a special teams contributor to keep around over Johnson.
Tight Ends (3)
Projected Starters: Cole Kmet and Gerald Everett
Backup: Marcedes Lewis
Out: Stephen Carlson, Tommy Sweeney, and Brenden Bates**
Analysis: Personally, I am really excited about this room. On Saturday, the Bears limited Cole Kmet's touches while Gerald Everett getting involved a bit in the passing game. We still have yet to see the vet in the room in Marcedes Lewis and the kind of impact he's going to bring to the offense as an additional blocker.
Offensive Linemen (10)
Projected Starters: Braxton Jones (LT), Teven Jenkins (LG), Coleman Shelton (C), Ryan Bates (RG), and Darnell Wright (RT)
Backups: Nate Davis, Matt Pryor, Kiran Amegadjie*, Jerome Carvin, and Bill Murray
Out: Larry Borom, Jake Curhan, Doug Kramer, Ja'Tyre Carter, Theo Benedet** and Aviante Collins
Analysis: At this point, only one open spot remains on the starting offensive line. With Ryan Bates out, Coleman Shelton has all but locked up the starting center job. The last spot left to finalize is at right guard. Nate Davis finally returned to action this week and started at the position, but didn't seem to really impress. If Bates is healthy, he can add some competition to the spot along with Matt Pryor.
As for the depth, Kiran Amegadjie was finally activated this week and hopefully should be able to start practicing later this week. Jerome Carvin and Bill Murray have been fine options who have stepped up at times as well during training camp.
Defensive Linemen (9)
Projected Starters: Montez Sweat, Andrew Billings, Gervon Dexter, DeMarcus Walker
Backups: Austin Booker*, Zacch Pickens, Jacob Martin, Dominique Robinson, Daniel Hardy
Out: Michael Dwumfour, Byron Cowart, Khalid Kareem, Dashaun Mallory**, Carl Jones**, Jaylon Hutchings, and Jamree Kromah**
Analysis: Once again, the Bears depth on the defensive line looked strong in a live game. After the report that the Bears were a finalist to land Matt Judon, I still wouldn't entirely rule out an addition to the room.
Last week, I said the depth battle worth focusing on at this position was between Daniel Hardy and Byron Cowart. Hardy finished the game with three tackles and one sack (3.5 sacks in his last two games). Cowart had just one tackle, giving Hardy the edge for the final spot. This week, the battle I'm focusing on his going to be between Cowart and Dominque Robinson (and Jacob Martin if he's healthy enough to play).
Linebackers (4)
Projected Starters: Tremaine Edmunds and T.J. Edwards
Backups: Jack Sanborn and Amen Ogbongbemiga
Out: Noah Sewell, Micah Baskerville, Paul Moala**, and Javin White
Analysis: Amen Ogbongbemiga was a real difference-maker once again for the Bears defense this weekend, finishing with six tackles and one interception. Micah Baskerville, his top competition for a depth spot at linebacker, had just two tackles.
We'll get one more game to see this back and forth battle to determine who to keep in this room behind the confirmed three starters at the position. Former fifth-round pick Noah Sewell is in danger of losing his job if he can't get on the field this week.
Cornerbacks (6)
Projected Starters: Jaylon Johnson, Kyler Gordon, and Tyrique Stevenson
Backups: Terell Smith, Greg Stroman, and Jaylon Jones
Out: Josh Blackwell, Leon Jones**, Ro Torrence** and Reddy Steward**
Analysis: At this point, the final spot in the cornerback room has turned into a three man race. Terell Smith and Greg Stroman should be locked in as depth pieces will the final spot going to either Jaylon Jones, Josh Blackwell, and rookie Reddy Steward.
I'd love to see Steward break out this week and claim the spot but for the time being I'm going to stick with Jones in the final spot. Blackwell as a lot of fans given his special teams contributions, but he hasn't played well in coverage the last two games.
Safeties (4)
Projected Starters: Kevin Byard and Jaquan Brisker
Backups: Jonathan Owens and Elijah Hicks
Out: Adrian Colbert, Tarvarius Moore, Douglas Coleman and Quindell Johnson
Analysis: As I said last week, this room is essentially locked up and that hasn't changed. Jonathan Owens and Elijah Hicks should be solid backups at safety and it'll be hard for any other player in the room to compete with those two at this point.
Specialists (3)
Projected Starters: Cairo Santos (K), Tory Taylor* (P), and Patrick Scales (LS)
Projected Returners: PR Rome Odunze* and KR Velus Jones
Out: Corliss Waitman and Cameron Lyons
Analysis: This past weekend, we finally got to see how important rookie punter Tory Taylor will be for this team. Taylor hit some booming punts after the starting offense had three straight three-and-outs to help flip the field. He's going to be a real weapon for the team on special teams.
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