The Chicago Bears have wrapped up the preseason and now comes the tough part in which head coach Ben Johnson and general manager Ryan Poles have to start trimming the roster down to 53 players.

That process has already begun leading up to the 6:00 p.m. ET. Let the tracking begin, here is every move the Bears have made so far, and what each designation means.

Last updated: August 30 at 6:00 p.m. ET.

Chicago Bears’ 2026 official roster cut tracker

Released

• CB Terell Smith
• WR Scotty Miller
• OT Jedrick Wills Jr. (injury settlement)
• S Anthony Johnson Jr.
• LB Jon Rhattigan
• RB Salvon Ahmed
• TE Stephen Carlson
• DL Marcus Davenport
• OL Wesley French
• DL James Lynch
• LB Jack Sanborn

Waived

• WR JP Richardson
• OL Caden Barnett
• OT Mason Murphy
• CB William Wright
• S Marlen Sewell
• WR Maurice Alexander
• OT Kiran Amegadjie
• WR Kaden Davis
• LB Antonio Grier
• OL Kyle Hergel
• TE Qadir Ismail
• WR Omari Kelly
• OL Jaren Kump
• DL Jeremiah Martin
• LB Wayne Matthews III
• QB Miller Moss
• DB Deantre Prince

Waived / Injured

• CB Beanie Bishop
• LB Ruben Hyppolite II
• DB Dontae Manning

Reserve/Injured

• RB Brittain Brown
• LB Tony Fields
• CB Jaylon Jones
• WR Ray-Ray McCloud III

PUP List

• DB Kyler Gordon
• LB Noah Sewell
• DE Shemar Turner

NFI List

• N/A

Important details to know about 2026 NFL roster cuts:

The NFL will have a single roster cut deadline instead of gradual roster cuts with multiple deadlines. Rosters must be reduced to 53 players by Sunday, Aug. 30, at 6:00 p.m. ET. The team has several different transactions they can use to make that happen. Here are the terms you need to familiarize yourself with:

Released

When a vested veteran (those who have accrued four seasons in the NFL) is cut from a team, these players are not required to pass through waivers and can immediately become unrestricted free agents. Sometimes that means they’ll sign with another team. Other times, teams can release these veterans and re-sign them after they’ve placed other players on injured reserve.

Waived

Players who have not accrued four seasons in the NFL are waived instead of being released. The other 31 NFL teams will have a chance to claim waived players on their 53-man roster by Monday Aug. 31 at 1:00 p.m. ET. If players are not claimed on waivers, they become unrestricted free agents. Team records from the previous season determine waiver priority this time of year. The team with the worst record will get the top waiver priority, in this case, the Las Vegas Raiders.

Waived/Injured

If these players clear waivers, they will revert to the Bears’ injured reserve list. They can opt to spend the season with Chicago on IR or reach an injury settlement with the team, which will pay them for the number of weeks they’ll miss with injury and make them an unrestricted free agent. Players who opt for the latter route can rejoin the team later in the season after they’re healthy.

Injured Reserve

Up to two players can be placed on IR on the day of final cuts (Sunday) and be designated to return. Teams still have the option to carry injured players on the 53-man roster, and some good reasons to do so. First, if a player is placed on IR, he is forced to miss at least four games. Second, if a player makes the initial 53 and is placed on IR on the following day, there are eight designations to return from IR, and another two for playoff teams.

Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list 

Players on the Active/PUP list can be placed on the Reserve/PUP list in a move to get the roster down to 53 players. Players who are moved to the Reserve/PUP list do not count against the 53-man roster. They can attend team meetings and use team facilities for rehab, but are not allowed to practice for four weeks. After four weeks, another 21-day window opens up, where the player can practice and be activated. If they’re not activated in those 21 days, they must be placed on injured reserve for the rest of the season.

Reserve/Non-football injury/illness (NFI) lists

Players placed on the Reserve/NFI lists have to go through the same process as players on the Reserve/PUP list. They do not count toward the 53-man roster. They can attend team meetings and use facilities for rehab, but they’re not allowed to participate in practice for four weeks. After that, a four-week period opens where they can return to practice, and the team can choose to activate the player. If the player isn’t activated at the end of the second four-week period, they’ll remain on injured reserve for the rest of the season. The big difference between the NFI and PUP lists is that teams can withhold a portion of a player’s salary if they’re placed on the NFI lists.

Reserve/Suspended list

Players who are placed on the Reserve/Suspended list have to serve out an NFL suspension. Players on this list do not count toward 53-man roster limits and are not paid their base salary. Beanie Bishop Jr. is one to watch here as he has to serve a three-game suspension during the regular season.

NFL practice squad rules

After the claiming period has ended at 1:00 p.m. ET on Monday, Aug. 31, teams are permitted to assemble their 16-man practice squads. Here are the rules on who can be signed to the practice squad.

• Players who do not have an accrued season (I.E. rookies).
• Players who were on the active roster for fewer than nine regular-season games during their only accrued season(s).
• Up to four players per team with no more than two accrued seasons.
• Up to six players per team with no accrued season limitations (I.E. vested veterans).

We will have this tracker available on Monday once players start getting signed to the practice squad.