Bears Roster Battle Updates: High-priced veteran in danger of losing starting job, UDFA making a push for 53-man roster
With two preseason games in the books, the Chicago Bears are starting to clear up some various positional battles across the roster.Nothing is concrete yet, with two weeks of practice and two preseason games left to be played until the coaching staff begins trimming down the roster.However, from what we've seen over the last two […]
With two preseason games in the books, the Chicago Bears are starting to clear up some various positional battles across the roster.
Nothing is concrete yet, with two weeks of practice and two preseason games left to be played until the coaching staff begins trimming down the roster.
However, from what we've seen over the last two weeks, some of the top battles are starting to wrap up, unless certain players start stepping up. Here's how things have looked at some of the Bears key positional battles.
Center and Possible Right Guard Battle
The biggest competition during training camp at Halas Hall has been the starting center battle between Coleman Shelton and Ryan Bates. However, a soft tissue injury setback by Nate Davis has led to some complications up-front.
With Davis out of the lineup, Bates had to move over to right guard and was poised to start there against the Bills until he suffered an injury at the end of last Thursday's practice. Matt Pryor started in his place with Shelton starting at center.
When Davis is on the field, head coach Matt Eberflus made it clear that he's the starter up-front but will open the job into a competition if need be. With Shelton seemingly locked in at center, this could open the door for him and Bates to both start up-front while the $30 million lineman sits on the bench. Seeing what the starting five looks like this week will be a telling sign for Davis, Bates, and the Bears entire offensive line.
Backup Quarterback Race
Even though the Bears have listed both Tyson Bagent and Brett Rypien as the second string quarterbacks on the unofficial depth chart, Bagent has appeared ahead of Rypien in both games so far in the preseason.
Against the Texans, Bagent played just one drive and was replaced by Rypien in the second-half. Rypien went on to torch the Texans throwing for 166 yards and three touchdowns. UDFA Austin Reed played the final drive before the game was called.
Despite Rypien's big game, Bagent still took the field after starting quarterback Caleb Williams ended his debut at two drives on Saturday. Bagent played 19 snaps, throwing for 47 yards and leading one touchdown drive. Rypien played just four snaps. Despite the battle there's a real possibility the Bears manage to keep both players on the team.
Running Back Depth Options
In the Bears win against the Bills this past weekend, we got a solid look at the team's backfield usage, although it was still an incomplete picture.
D'Andre Swift started the game with the rest of the first-team offense, but it was Khalil Herbert who played the majority of the snaps on the first two drives of the game. Herbert looked strong but had issues with his blocking reads and vision, he still finished with 31 yards on nine carries.
His direct competition for the RB2 job, Roschon Johnson, did not play after sitting out Thursday's practice with an undisclosed injury. Johnson, however, did get six carries during the team's preseason opener and played the opening drive of the game.
Further down the depth chart at running back, undrafted free agent Ian Wheeler is gaining ground on veteran back Travis Homer and could make a strong push for his role on the roster. Wheeler had five carries for 43 yards and two scores against the Bills while Homer only got 18 yards on four carries. Velus Jones Jr. also looked strong running the ball after getting moved to running back last week averaging 5.7 yards per carry while adding one touchdown over the weekend.
Will Another Wide Receiver Eventually Emerge?
The Bears right now should feel confident in carrying DJ Moore, Keenan Allen, Rome Odunze, Tyler Scott, and Velus Jones on the roster. As of right now, Collin Johnson is the only other name who should be in consideration.
Johnson had a monster game against the Texans in the preseason opener but sat out against the Bills. Deandre Carter and Dante Pettis are the only other two battling for any potential spot. Here's how the two have looked through two preseason games.
Carter has played 14 total snaps and mainly has been used on special teams, where he's returned one punt for nine yards. Pettis has played 45 snaps over the two games. He's been targeted five times with two receptions for 45 yards. Pettis also has gotten looks as a returner but fumbled a punt against the Texans.
Needless to say, neither Carter nor Pettis has looked promising so far, which bodes well for Johnson to make the team if he can return to the lineup and keep making plays on offense and special teams this week.
Final Spot on the Defensive Line
This is the race that's starting to become really intriguing to me. The Bears have a ton of young pass rushers currently on the roster and only one/two spots are really open. Montez Sweat, DeMarcus Walker, Austin Booker, Gervon Dexter, Zacch Pickens, Andrew Billings, and Jacob Martin seem like the guys locked in place as of now.
As for that final spot, Bryon Cowart looked really good in the preseason opener finishing as the defense's highest-graded player after recording a sack, forced fumble, and two tackles for a loss. Against the Bills, it was Daniel Hardy who shined, ending his day with 2.5 sacks, three QB hits, and two tackles for a loss with Cowart out.
I'd like to see those two, along with Khalid Kareem, continue battling for a final spot in the room over the final two preseason games.
Chicago Bears 53-man roster and practice squad projection following the second preseason game
Updated look at the potential roster.
