Bears Fans Call for Team to Cut Former Top-50 Pick After Win Over Bills

Getty Bears head coach Matt Eberflus.

Chicago Bears fans are already getting fed up with veteran wide receiver Dante Pettis following another disappointing performance from the former top-50 pick during the team’s 33-6 preseason win over the Buffalo Bills on August 10.

Pettis — the No. 44 overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft — is in the hunt for one of the depth spots in the Bears’ 2024 receiving rotation, but the 28-year-old has not helped his roster case with his rough performances in Chicago’s first two preseason games.

During the Pro Football Hall of Fame game, Pettis muffed his lone attempted punt return late in the third quarter and turned the ball over to the Houston Texans at the Bears’ 38-yard line. Then, against the Bills, he appeared to make a 14-yard reception from rookie quarterback Austin Reed on third down, but Buffalo challenged his catch and won after the review showed Pettis bobbled the ball while going to the ground.

Pettis has just two receptions for 45 yards on five targets through Chicago’s first two preseason games and has muffed his only punt return, prompting portions of the fan base to call for his release with roughly two weeks left until the 53-man roster cutdown.

Members of Chicago media also seem to recognize the writing on the wall for Pettis.

“Dante Pettis once again doing himself no favors,” Aaron Leming of 247 Sports wrote on X. “What once appeared to be a first down catch will be overturned to a drop.”

Dante Pettis Remains a Long Shot to Make Bears’ Roster

Pettis did not come into 2024 training camp on the strongest ground with the Bears. While he caught 19 passes for 245 yards and three scores and played in all 17 games for them in 2022, he missed the entire 2023 campaign with an undisclosed injury that he sustained in the preseason and landed him on the season-ending injured reserve list.

Ultimately, the Bears decided to re-sign Pettis to a one-year contract in March and give him one more chance to make their roster in 2024, but the team’s improved receiving corps combined with his lackluster play have made him a long shot to claim a role.

The Bears have three guaranteed locks to make their 53-man roster at wide receiver between DJ Moore, Keenan Allen and first-round rookie Rome Odunze. Tyler Scott, a 2023 fourth-round pick, also has a strong chance to make the team as a backup and a potential kick return option. That leaves Pettis vying for two, maybe three open spots.

The problem is Pettis has not stood out in a good way on special teams like some of his competitors. Velus Jones Jr. has impressed the team as a kick returner and has begun to take snaps out of the backfield, as he did Saturday against Buffalo. Collin Johnson looks capable of making tackles and playing a gunner role on kickoffs and punts.

Even DeAndre Carter and rookie John Jackson III have produced some good moments in the return game for the Bears throughout camp and the preseason.

Unless Pettis can steady and bounce back in head-turning fashion over the next few weeks of camp, the former second-round pick’s days are likely numbered in Chicago.

Will Collin Johnson Claim Roster Spot for Bears in 2024?

Let’s assume the Bears keep six wide receivers for their initial 53-man roster in 2024 as they did last season. Jones — a 2022 third-round pick — will likely seize the No. 5 spot due to his kick return ability and versatility as a runner and receiver on offense. Could that leave Johnson to claim the final spot in the rotation over Pettis at the end of camp?

Johnson — a 2020 fifth-round pick for the Jacksonville Jaguars — impressed during the Bears’ first preseason game against the Texans. He made three receptions for 56 yards and two touchdowns on 19 receiving snaps and added a special teams tackle to boot. While his big night amounted to just one good preseason performance, the Bears did not even play him in the second game, a sign that he may have already won them over.

Pettis could still re-emerge as a threat to Johnson’s chances. Carter could do the same considering the 30-year-old has experience returning both kicks and punts and is one of only three receivers on the Bears’ roster with more than 1,000 career receiving yards. As of August 11, though, Johnson appears to have the edge in his roster pursuit.