Chicago Bears announce new additions to the roster following rookie minicamp as Ben Johnson brings in more competition
The Chicago Bears held rookie minicamp this past week and announced they have signed four new additions to the roster following a strong tryout showing in front of the coaching staff.
The Chicago Bears wrapped up rookie minicamp this past weekend and part of the two days of practice included the coaching staff getting their eyes on a few tryout players looking to land with a new home, beyond seeing the new rookies and UDFA signings.
On Monday evening, the Bears announced the signing of four new players as the team looks to round out the 90-man roster going into the rest of the offseason.
Scotty Miller and Kyron Hudson add more competition to the Chicago Bears’ WR room
Scotty Miller, the former Super Bowl champion with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was the notable veteran tryout that came to Chicago this weekend. Miller has prior experience with Bears WRs coach Antwaan Randle El and impressed head coach Ben Johnson with his speed before even getting on the field. As expected, that trait showed up this weekend and the Bears moved quick to sign him to a contract.
He wasn’t the only wide receiver addition. The Bears also signed former Penn State wide receiver Kyron Hudson as a UDFA following a rookie tryout. Hudson had 288 yards and two touchdowns for the Nittany Lions. Prior to transferring to Penn State, Hudson spent four seasons at USC totaling 807 yards and eight touchdowns while actually catching passes from two quarterbacks now with the Bears in Caleb Williams and Miller Moss.
Miller and Hudson join the following players in Chicago’s WR room: Rome Odunze, Luther Burden III, Kalif Raymond, Jahdae Walker, Zavion Thomas, JP Richardson, Maurice Alexander, and Omari Kelly. Speaking with reporters on Friday, Johnson stressed the importance of adding more competition at this specific position and how it helps keep all of the team’s pass catchers fresh going into the fall.
“We’re always looking to add competition and my experience has been, you can’t have enough of those guys,” Johnson said. “Particularly over the course of training camp, you know guys are going to get dinged up. You need to have a stable of those guys to be able to ensure you get enough reps for the quarterbacks and everyone else. I think depth is going to be one of the things we’re on the lookout for here over the course of spring and training camp.”
Bears continue loading up the LB room with two new faces joining the group
On the defensive side of the ball, the Bears added two more linebackers to the mix after already investing heavily in overhauling the position this offseason. The Bears signed seven-year NFL veteran Jon Rhattigan, who spent last two seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and UDFA Wayne Matthews III out of Michigan State.
Chicago already added multiple new additions to the room this offseason after signing Devin Bush, re-signing D’Marco Jackson, reuniting with Jack Sanborn, and then drafting Keyshawn Elliott.
With T.J. Edwards recovering from a fractured fibula and Noah Sewell recovering from a torn Achilles, adding more bodies to the room should have been expected going into OTAs and training camp.