The Chicago Bears are adding another experienced cornerback to their ranks for the final two-game stretch of the 2022 season and casting aside a former first-round pick to make room for him on their 53-man roster.
According to the team’s transaction wire for December 28, the Bears claimed 2020 third-round cornerback Michael Ojemudia off the waivers from the Denver Broncos on Thursday and waived former Dallas Cowboys first-round defensive end Taco Charlton from their active roster in a corresponding move.
Ojemudia — the No. 77 pick in the 2020 NFL draft — was a 12-game starter during his three seasons with the Broncos, making 11 of them as a rookie and notching 62 total tackles, six pass deflections and four forced fumbles in his first NFL season. He fell out of favor, though, in the following year as veterans Kyle Fuller and Ronald Darby as well as first-round rookie Patrick Surtain II passed him on the depth chart. He also spent the bulk of his second season on injured reserve with a hamstring injury.
The Broncos finally cut their losses with Ojemudia after getting just three games out of him in 2022 and waived him from their roster earlier this week on December 27.
The Bears also signed cornerback Greg Stroman Jr. to their practice squad on Thursday. Stroman had spent the majority of the 2022 offseason, including training camp, with the Bears before getting waived ahead of their 53-man roster cutdown in August.
Charlton Disappointed During Limited Role for Bears
The Bears were hopeful that Charlton could help them boost their pass-rushing attack when they signed the former No. 28 overall pick to their roster back on November 16. Instead, the 28-year-old defensive end’s performances in Chicago only served as a reminder as to why he has bounced around to so many teams over six NFL seasons.
Charlton played in every game for the Bears after joining the roster ahead of their Week 11 matchup with the Atlanta Falcons, seeing his role gradually increase from single-digit defensive snaps to a season-high 23 against the Green Bay Packers in Week 13. Despite playing 40 pass-rushing snaps over five games, though, he only managed to generate a single pressure against Philadelphia in Week 14 and recorded just three tackles.
According to Pro Football Focus, Charlton also played his worst game of the season on Saturday against the Buffalo Bills, finishing as the Bears’ lowest-graded defender (32.7) with some severe deficiencies against the run game. In his defense, there weren’t many Bears defenders who didn’t struggle against the Bills’ backfield in the matchup with Buffalo rushing 31 times for 254 yards and three touchdowns, but you would hope a 28-year-old former first-round selection could do more with his opportunities.
Bears Need to Prioritize DL Help in 2023 Offseason
The Bears have several key needs to address in the upcoming offseason, but their defensive line might be the part of their roster that needs the most renovation given how little they have produced during the 2022 season. The Bears have the fewest number of sacks (18) in the NFL heading into Week 17 with rookie safety Jaquan Brisker currently leading the pack with four sacks on the year. The next-closest sacks leader is Roquan Smith (2.5), who hasn’t even been on the Bears’ roster since Week 8.
Pieces that were expected to take a step forward in 2022, namely Trevis Gipson, have taken a step back for the Bears, while new additions such as Al-Quadin Muhammad and Justin Jones have been largely disappointing when it comes to generating pressure. Even rookie Dominique Robinson — who showed flashes early in the year — has fallen off despite getting more defensive snaps down the back half of the season.
While the Bears will surely keep some of their current personnel around for next season, they would be wise to invest heavily in their defensive trenches during the offseason. One of the easiest ways could be using their projected No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft to select either Alabama edge rusher Will Anderson Jr. or Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter, but they will also want to make full use of free agency and the trade market to ensure they aren’t trying to force all the responsibility onto rookies.
Some of the big-name interior defensive linemen who are set to hit the free agency market in March include Washington’s Daron Payne, Philadelphia’s Javon Hargrave, Minnesota’s Dalvin Tomlinson and Denver’s Dre’Mont Jones.
Bears Cut Former First-Round Pick, Add Ex-Broncos Starter