Chicago Bears Live Roster Cut Tracker: Latest moves made by Ben Johnson as the team looks to create the initial 53-man roster
Here’s which players have been released so far.
The Chicago Bears have created a deep roster going into the first season under head coach Ben Johnson and now the tough decisions have to be made when it comes to roster cuts.
By Tuesday, August 26th at 4:00pm EST, all 32 teams in the league are required to cut the rosters down from 90 players to create the initial 53-man roster. Note, this is just the initial roster, more signings or releases can be made before going into the regular season.
For the Bears, some positions have turned out to be deeper than others such as OT, RB, WR, and CB making this a difficult process to cut down the roster. Below, you will find all of the updated roster moves made by the team, including what each designation means.
Players released by the Chicago Bears
- DB Tre Flowers
- RB Royce Freeman
- OL Joshua Miles
- DE Tanoh Kpassagnon
- WR Miles Boykin
- TE Stephen Carlson
Players waived by the Chicago Bears
- WR Samori Toure
- OL Chris Glaser
- LB Swayze Bozeman
- TE Thomas Gordon
- DB Mark Perry
- DB Jeremiah Walker
- TE Joel Wilson
- DB Millard Bradford
- DL Xavier Carlton
- DB Alex Cook
- LB Power Echols
- DB Kaleb Hayes
- QB Austin Reed
- RB Ian Wheeler
- C Ricky Stromberg
- WR JP Richardson
- LS Luke Elkin
- CB Mekhi Garner
- DT Zacch Pickens
- WR Tyler Scott
- WR Maurice Alexander
- RB Brittain Brown
- DL Jonathan Ford
- DL Jamree Kromah
- OL Jordan McFadden
- DB Tysheem Johnson (waived/injured)
- OL Doug Kramer Jr. (waived/injured)
- OL Bill Murray (waived/injured)
Players placed on IR/PUP/NFI by the Chicago Bears
- RB Travis Homer (IR, designated to return)
- LB Amen Ogbongbemiga (IR, designated to return)
- CB Zah Frazier (Non-Football Injury)
- CB Shaun Wade (IR season-ending)
- CB Terell Smith (IR season-ending)
- RB Deion Hankins (IR season-ending)
Released vs. Waived Explained
Over the next few days, you will hear about players being “released” or “waived” from the roster.
Players who have accrued at least four seasons in the NFL are not subject to the waiver wire and immediately become free agents after being “released”.
In contrast, players who have yet to accrue four seasons will have to go through the league’s waiver wire, where teams can claim them on the contract they signed with their previous team. Seasons are accrued in the NFL by being a “full pay status” player for six or more games during a season. Players can accrue games throughout a season if they are placed on the IR, the PUP list, or by being a member of a team’s 53-man roster, whether they are active or inactive on game day.
IR vs. PUP vs. NFI Explained
NFL teams can designate up to two players to return from injured reserve without the necessity for them to make the initial 53-man roster. The designation has to be made at the moment of the move on cutdown day.
Players placed on the injured reserve before making the 53-man roster and without a designation for return are out for the season, unless they agree to an injury settlement.
The PUP and NFI (injury or illness) lists are for players who didn’t pass a physical before the end of training camp. The difference from PUP to NFI is that, on PUP, the player got injured during a team activity. In both cases, the players can return after missing at least four games to start the season.
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