Getty Chicago Bears Head coach Matt Nagy
The Chicago Bears have signed veteran offensive lineman Eric Kush to their practice squad, while also releasing former Los Angeles Rams center Aaron Neary in a corresponding move, the team announced via Twitter.
We have signed veteran OL Eric Kush to our practice squad & released OL Aaron Neary.
Kush was drafted in the sixth round of the 2013 NFL Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs, so Bears head coach Matt Nagy knows him well.
Kush spent his first two seasons in Kansas City before playing with the Rams for a year in 2015. He spent the 2016-2018 seasons with the Bears (he missed the entire 2017 season due to injury), and he was signed by the Browns as an unrestricted free agent in 2019. He was released a year into his two-year deal with Cleveland, and the Las Vegas Raiders subsequently signed him to a one-year deal this offseason only to release him with an injury settlement in early September.
The Bears signed Neary to the practice squad last week amid a sea of injuries and positive COVID-19 tests, but his time in Chicago seems to have been short-lived and his fate sealed with Kush’s return.
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Eric Kush Looks to Be Ridiculously Jacked These Days
As ex-Bears guard Kyle Long noted on Twitter, Kush is looking like quite the physical specimen these days:
Eric Kush has no time for sleeves
Kush also posted a video on his Instagram of what his workouts have looked like this past summer, and he looks like quite the force in the video he shared:
While Kush looks like a beast, his release from the Raiders with an injury settlement just three months back is concerning. The Bears are banged up enough on the offensive line, and the last thing they need is another injury-riddled player. But if he’s healthy — and he must look somewhat capable, as Chicago had him in for a workout this past week — he’ll be an excellent addition to the team, as he knows Matt Nagy’s offense, and the Bears are in desperate need of offensive line depth.
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Bears Still Have Several Holes on O-Line
At present, the Bears have two members of their o-line on injured reserve (James Daniels, who will miss the season with a torn pectoral, and right tackle Bobby Massie, who will be out several more weeks). They also have their top two centers, starter Cody Whitehair and backup Sam Mustipher, out dealing with various ailments.
Rookie Lachavious Simmons is also out after being placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list, so the Bears are desperate for depth on the line. Kush will likely take over for rookie Arlington Hambright at left guard, although he also has some experience playing right guard, as well.
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Bears Cut OL, Add Jacked Former Player to Practice Squad