Getty The Bears and head coach Matt Eberflus are being urged to cut one wideout in particular.
Ihmir Smith-Marsette joined the Chicago Bears on September 1, but he seems to have already worn out his welcome in the Windy City.
The Bears claimed the 6-foot-1, 185-pound wide receiver off waivers shortly after the Minnesota Vikings let him go, and he has yet to prove his worth. Smith-Marsette has caught just one pass on four targets for 15 yards in his six games with Chicago and had played just 17% of the team’s offensive snaps. That’s enough, according to Bears Nation.
The 23-year-old wideout has made multiple glaring errors over his last two games, and they’ve been big enough mistakes to warrant his dismissal. First, there was the wide receiver’s game-changing error in Chicago’s 29-22 Week 5 loss to the Vikings.
Smith-Marsette failed to run out of bounds with just over a minute remaining in the game, instead having the ball taken away by Vikings cornerback Cameron Dantzler. The following week, in a 12-7 loss to the Washington Commanders, he was targeted multiple times on Chicago’s final drive but produced no catches.
Quarterback Justin Fields needs weapons to throw to, and many feel Smith-Marsette’s roster spot should be given to someone else.
Bears Fans & Analysts Have ‘Seen Enough’
After Smith-Marsette was targeted by Fields on the final drive against the Commanders, fans and analysts wondered why, as he’s nowhere near a top receiver:
#Bears went to Smith Marsette TWICE on that make/break drive.
Some fans wondered why Smith-Marsette was in the lineup on offense instead of rookie Velus Jones Jr., who could use the snaps and experience:
The Bears choose to play Smith-Marsette, who is actively sabotaging the team, on offense over Velus Jones.
That should set off alarm bells.
While many simply noted that glaring mistakes in key moments should be enough for the Bears to cut ties with Smith-Marsette:
Smith-Marsette with the drop, after he tripped over Braxton Jones on the jet sweep.
That’s two mistakes, 2 weeks in a row.
You can cut him this week, Ryan Poles.
Jacob Infante of Windy City Gridiron may have summed it up most succinctly, tweeting: “I think we’ve seen enough of the Ihmir Smith-Marsette experience in Chicago.”
I think we’ve seen enough of the Ihmir Smith-Marsette experience in Chicago.
Even if that was fairly tight coverage, that pass hit him right in the hands. And he dropped it on fourth down. #Bears
Ihmir Smith-Marsette Comments on His Recent Errors
For his part, Smith-Marsette knows he messed up.
“It’s real tough, being that last week, you know, I (also) had the miscue,” Smith-Marsette said after the loss to the Commanders, via Last Word on Sports. “Then this week where I could have changed the game. It’s tough. It’s plays that I know I can make. So, I got to go out there and show that I can make them. Just keep my head down, keep working.”
“It’s a long season,” Smith-Marsette added. “And we got each other’s back, no matter what. I got their back and vice versa. So let’s go out there and get this thing rolling.”
The Bears have an 11-day break until they play the New England Patriots Week 7, and head coach Matt Eberflus says the team will be re-evaluating every single position over that time.
“We’re going to reassess everything,” Eberflus said. “Yeah, everything from scheme to players to everything. We’re going to do a good job of that here coming up. And we’re going to do a good job of really getting it to the players. If it might be a lineup change or might be technique, fundamentals, all that, scheme, how we’re running certain plays, who we’re getting ball to, what we’re doing well, what we need to improve on. We’re going to look at all that for sure.”
We’ll see if Smith-Marsette sticks around after Eberflus and company make their evals.