Chicago Bears Practice Squad Tracker: Ben Johnson adds more talent to the building including players the team recently cut
The Chicago Bears have started constructing the 16-man practice squad going into the regular season. Follow along to see which players have been signed or brought back after roster cuts.
The Chicago Bears have constructed the initial 53-man roster and with the waiver wire claims now announced, teams can begin constructing their practice squad going into the 2026 regular season.
For the Bears, this is a big part of the team. Head coach Ben Johnson used a practice squad elevation practically every week and those players made impacts when you look at players such as Nikola Kalinic, Jonathan Ford, Stephen Carlson, Brittain Brown, and Jalen Reeves-Maybin.
You’re only as good as your depth, especially once we get deep into the season and a good coach finds a way to get the most out of all 69 players in the building. Earlier today, I projected what Chicago’s practice squad will look like after roster cuts. Now, let’s track and see what the actual group will become.
Notes: If you’ve already viewed this page, you may need to refresh it to have the latest version of the article as we’ll be fluidly updating cuts in live time. Last update: August 31 at 5:41 p.m. ET.
Chicago Bears 2026 practice squad tracker
- OL Caden “Vanilla Gorilla” Barnett, via Brad Biggs
- WR Scotty Miller, via Jordan Schultz
- OT Christian Jones, via Brad Biggs
Practice squad rules
Each NFL team is allowed to construct a 16-man practice squad going into the regular season. Up to 10 of those 16 players can have a maximum of two accrued NFL seasons. Meanwhile, up to six players can have unlimited NFL experience. There can be a 17th spot (which theoretically doesn’t count to the 16-man limit) which is reserved from a player of the International Pathway Program.
Each week, an NFL team is allowed to elevate up to two players from the practice squad for gameday. A specific player can be elevated three times throughout the regular season (plus unlimited times in the playoffs). After that, the player must be promoted to the 53-man roster in order to be active on future gamedays.
