Bears activating rookie Kiran Amegadjie could lead to a former starter getting pushed off the 53-man roster
This past weekend, the Chicago Bears finally made an expected roster decision with one of their top draft picks that helps clean things up on the offensive line.That move was officially activating third-round offensive lineman Kiran Amegadjie off the Non-Football Injury (NFI) list. Amegadjie has spent the entire summer on the NFI list while rehabbing […]
This past weekend, the Chicago Bears finally made an expected roster decision with one of their top draft picks that helps clean things up on the offensive line.
That move was officially activating third-round offensive lineman Kiran Amegadjie off the Non-Football Injury (NFI) list. Amegadjie has spent the entire summer on the NFI list while rehabbing from a torn quad suffered in college.
Now that he's been activated, Amegadjie is now able to officially practice with the rest of his team in some ramp up capacity. With the Bears playing on a short week against the Kansas City Chiefs, I wouldn't expect to see Amegadjie out there this soon.
The main thing about the Bears activating Amegadjie is that the rookie now will enter the season on the 53-man roster, without any injury designation to worry about. While that makes things easier from a front office standpoint, it's also a bad sign for other offensive linemen looking to make it on the roster.
The player this could potentially affect the most is fourth-year swing tackle Larry Borom. Borom has already been on the hot seat since Amegadjie was drafted with the expectation that the rookie will take over the swing tackle duties when healthy.
Since being drafted in the fifth-round of the 2021 NFL Draft, Borom has started 23 games for the Bears over the last three seasons. His play time over his first three seasons allowed him to hit the escalator in his rookie contract that will boost his base salary to $3.116 million in 2024. That's a high price to pay for a backup tackle, especially when you have younger, cheaper options already on the team.
With the official cut down day coming up on August 27th, the Bears will have to determine how healthy Amegadjie really is to determine Borom's future with the team. Given his experience at a critical position, the Bears could even find a trade suitor willing to bring on Borom's contract as opposed to out-right cutting him.
Teams like the Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys, Detroit Lions, and maybe the New Orleans Saints make the most sense for team's who could be interested in trading for Borom ahead of roster cuts.
This preseason, Borom has played 49 total snaps at left tackle, allowing only one pressure against the Buffalo Bills, per Pro Football Focus. He's still a relatively young and quality player worth being on an NFL roster somewhere, if it's not in Chicago.
As for Amegadjie, it'll be interesting to see what his ramp up process looks like this week at practice to really get some clarity in the situation.
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