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The Chicago Bears are shaking up their cornerback room following an injury to second-year Terell Smith during Week 3’s loss to the Indianapolis Colts.
According to the team’s transaction wire for September 25, the Bears signed former New England Patriots sixth-round pick Ameer Speed to their 16-man practice squad and released rookie cornerback Ro Torrence in a corresponding move on Wednesday.
Speed played in 13 games during his 2023 rookie season, spending five with the Patriots before moving on to the Colts for an eight-game stint. He played just 12 defensive snaps but was much more involved on special teams (227 snaps), recording nine total tackles.
The Bears will now have Speed to consider as a depth promotion for their cornerback room while Smith is out of the picture. Smith sustained a hip injury in Sunday’s 21-16 loss to the Colts and did not practice in Wednesday’s first session for Week 4, casting doubt on his status as the team readies to host the Los Angeles Rams on September 29.
The Bears’ latest roster moves come just one day after they made a similar shake-up at tight end. They promoted Stephen Carlson from the practice squad to the 53-man roster and signed Teagan Quitoriano — a 2022 fifth-round pick — to take his roster spot.
Unlike at cornerback, the Bears have no reported injuries at tight end that would have prompted a roster change, but perhaps Carlson can offer them more blocking help.
How Will Bears Handle Terell Smith’s Injury in Week 4?
The Bears could have a depth problem to address if Smith cannot play against the Rams in Week 4, but it depends on whether they feel they need more than two backups.
Smith — a 2023 fifth-round pick — is one of the three backups in the rotation, listed as the top perimeter backup behind Tyrique Stevenson on the Bears’ official depth chart. That said, the Bears also have Jaylon Jones and Josh Blackwell on the active roster, and none of the three of them have played more than one defensive snap on the season.
Jones and Blackwell are also much more active than Smith on special teams. Each has played more than twice as many third-phase snaps as Smith over the first three games, giving them much less to replace if Smith’s injury holds him out against the Rams.
If the Bears decide they need more reinforcements at the position, though, don’t expect them to call upon the newly-signed Speed. The Bears also have undrafted rookie Reddy Steward — a preseason standout — on their practice squad and are more likely to place their trust in him than Speed given he has spent more time learning their defense.
What Could Stephen Carlson Promote Mean for TEs?
The Bears did not make the roster moves that many fans are screaming for them to make (offensive linemen, anyone?), but Carlson’s promotion is a little surprising.
While Carlson has been with the Bears in some capacity since he first signed with them in May 2023, the team already has three tight ends on its 53-man roster and all three — Cole Kmet, Gerald Everett and Marcedes Lewis — are healthy at the onset of Week 4. So, Carlson’s promotion begs the question: What do the Bears have planned for him?
One explanation could be special teams. Carlson has banked more special teams snaps (450) than offensive snaps (294) since coming into the league in 2019, and while the Bears only played him on one special teams snap in 2023, they could have an interest in putting him to the test on the third phase with Smith and running back Travis Homer — who vacated the roster spot that Carlson took when he went on IR — unavailable.
It is also possible that offensive coordinator Shane Waldron wants another big-bodied tight end on the roster to help improve their run blocking. Granted, the Bears brought back the veteran Lewis to play the role of mentor and blocking tight end, but Lewis — amid his age-40 season — has struggled with false-start penalties in the last two games.
Either way, it will be interesting to see how the Bears plan to use Carlson — if they plan to use him — against the Rams as they look to take a step forward offensively.
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