6 Winners and 3 Losers From Bears Preseason Opener: Overlooked players stand out while Ben Johnson fails to get clarity at key battle
The first game of the Chicago Bears preseason slate is in the books. Here are the players whose stocks rose or fell in the win over the Cleveland Browns.
The Chicago Bears dominated the Cleveland Browns 34-10 in their preseason opener on Saturday, and the game provided a revealing look at several roster battles across the depth chart.
Head coach Ben Johnson praised how his team responded after a slow start, particularly the second-half performance. From defensive end Jamree Kromah’s breakout showing to some concerning moments at left tackle, here are the biggest stock risers and fallers from the Bears’ first exhibition game.
Winners and Losers from the Chicago Bears win over the Cleveland Browns in the preseason opener
Winner: DE Jamree Kromah
The biggest standout was easily defensive end Jamree Kromah, a former undrafted free agent out of JMU who has quietly been with the organization for a couple of years. With Montez Sweat, Austin Booker, Dayo Odeyingbo, Daniel Hardy, and Shemar Turner occupying most of the conversation off the edge, Kromah hasn’t received much attention. That changed Saturday.
Kromah finished with six tackles, 2.0 sacks, three tackles for a loss, two quarterback hits, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery against Deshaun Watson. He was one of the most consistent players on the defense and drew high praise from Johnson for the way he’s taken to coaching this offseason. For a player few gave credit to entering the game, Kromah made an early statement that will be hard to ignore.
“It’s something you see in the springtime. The new techniques that we’re coaching with and he’s flashing,” Johnson said. “And yet it’s like, ‘Is this the time he’s going to turn it on?’ And you don’t know. Then you go into a game like this, and you see the get off, you see the relentlessness. You could feel his presence every single snap. He’s such a hard worker. I know he’s been in the program now for a minute and to see him have some success on the field like that, that was huge.”
Loser: CB Josh Blackwell
Veteran cornerback Josh Blackwell got beat early by Jerry Jeudy, missed a tackle on a RB screen, and gave up two big completions on the outside while rookie Malik Muhammad II handled his usual role in the slot.
The Bears wanted to test Blackwell’s versatility beyond the nickel spot in this game, and the results weren’t what they hoped for. Blackwell’s primary value to this roster is still on special teams, so one bad preseason game likely won’t sink him, but getting picked on like that isn’t ideal for a player trying to carve out his role in a secondary while the Bears are still sorting out their top depth options.
Winner: DL James Lynch
Defensive tackle James Lynch was another player who needs more attention than he received entering the game. The veteran free agent addition was somewhat of an afterthought compared to other defensive line acquisitions, yet Lynch showed out Saturday.
His stat line of two tackles, a quarterback hit, and a pass deflection doesn’t do justice to how much pressure he was creating. It seemed like he was in the backfield on every snap, disrupting the offense. With rookies Jordan van den Berg and Jayden Loving rising in training camp, the veteran needed to make some noise, and he did.
Loser: Jedrick Wills Jr. and Kiran Amegadjie
The other stock-down players are offensive tackle Jedrick Wills Jr. and Kiran Amegadjie. Wills especially after giving up a bad one-on-one sack against Julian Okwara off the edge. The Bears hoped this game would help clarify the left tackle competition between Wills and Kiran Amegadjie before Braxton Jones returns to practice.
Neither tackle stood out on initial watch, but Wills surrendering that sack is not what the coaching staff wanted to see from a player fighting for a second chance. And Amegadjie admitted his performance was up and down.
“I think that’s a hard one for me to assess right now,” Johnson said of the left tackle battle. “Sometimes that trench play, you have to go ahead and take a look at the lens from behind and really be able to take a look at it. But, as a whole, I would say the offensive line – I felt like our quarterback got hit more than I would like. Tyson certainly did in the first half. And in the second half, we still felt some pressures on [quarterbacks] Case [Keenum] and Miller [Moss]. We’ll look at why that was the case, and then, running game-wise, it was a little spotty, as well. … so hard to say a whole lot about left tackle quite yet.”
Winner: CB Beanie Bishop
The biggest winner in the secondary was veteran corner Beanie Bishop, who recorded two interceptions and had two tackles. Neither pick was the result of a particularly strong play on his part — more right-place, right-time situations against some awful passes.
Still, the Bears are searching for secondary depth, and Bishop brings experience along with versatility at nickel and on the outside. The only caveat is that Bishop will have to serve a three-game suspension if he makes the roster due to a violation of the NFL substance abuse policy. That’s a significant factor for a player trying to earn a spot, but he capitalized on his initial opportunity Saturday.
“I think it’s a credit to him. He doesn’t say a whole lot. He’s just learning and trying to absorb the system right now,” Johnson said. “…Beanie’s in great position and he took advantage of it twice. Thought he had a great return afterwards as well. It was awesome to see. We’ll continue to evaluate him as we get going.”
Winner: WRs Kaden Davis and Ray-Ray McCloud III
The wide receiver room is coming together, and the depth looks really strong. Kaden Davis and Ray-Ray McCloud both made compelling cases for the potential sixth wide receiver spot during Saturday’s game, or at least earned practice squad spots.
Davis hauled in four receptions for 88 yards, though he did have some drops he’d like back. McCloud, meanwhile, drew five targets and caught three passes for 63 yards with more of a big-play profile. The battle extends beyond the passing game, too. Davis added a 23-yard punt return and McCloud contributed an 11-yard punt return.
Davis has been making plays all camp long, while McCloud, a veteran the Bears recently signed, was a pleasant surprise. For a player who just arrived, staying out in the second half and producing like that is encouraging heading into the remaining preseason games.
Winner: C Logan Jones
The starting center job appears to belong to Garrett Bradbury at this point, but rookie Logan Jones showed promising things in his NFL debut. Jones had dealt with some snap issues in the past, and none of that was noticeable Saturday.
He did a great job getting out in space, creating holes up the middle, and getting in front of blocks in the screen game. Encouraging stuff from the young center.
