The Chicago Bears made a couple of costly cuts to the roster in late August — two moves that at least one NFL analyst believes the team will live to regret.
Chicago claimed former first-round offensive tackle Alex Leatherwood ahead of last season following the Las Vegas Raiders‘ decision to release him after a poor rookie campaign in 2021. The Bears then signed free agent quarterback P.J. Walker, formerly of the Carolina Panthers, to a two-year contract in March.
General manager Ryan Poles gave both players the axe in recent days, despite owing Leatherwood more than $4.5 million in guaranteed money and Walker just north of $2 million — essentially paying them each to go away so the Bears could use their roster spots to sign other players.
Gary Davenport of Bleacher Report predicted on Thursday, August 31, that Poles will ultimately regret both of those decisions. Davenport started with the release of Leatherwood.
It’s a puzzling move for a couple of reasons. The first is that while Leatherwood’s first two seasons admittedly haven’t impressed, an argument can be made that it’s not entirely his fault. He was miscast as a tackle in Las Vegas and hasn’t really had a chance to show what he might be capable of as a guard.
The second reason is the state of the offensive line in Chicago, which is not good. … The Bears just don’t impress as a team that can afford to hemorrhage offensive linemen, especially when it costs them upward of $5 million in cap space to do it.
P.J. Walker’s Exit Leaves Bears with Lack of Experience at QB
GettyQuarterback P.J. Walker, formerly of the Chicago Bears, is now a member of the Cleveland Browns.
Davenport then went on to describe the cutting of Walker as a “curious decision.”
“[It] leaves the Bears precariously thin behind Justin Fields. The backup quarterback will now ostensibly be rookie Tyler Bagent, who was undrafted coming out of Division II Shepherd,” Davenport wrote. “The Bears also waived journeyman Nathan Peterman, so if Fields did get hurt, they would be in big trouble.”
“Given the state of Chicago’s offensive line, having a backup quarterback who has attempted an NFL pass probably wasn’t a bad idea,” Davenport continued.
On Thursday, the Bears signed Peterman back as a member of the practice squad, meaning Chicago will have an option other than Bagent if Fields is hurt and the undrafted rookie can’t rise to the occasion.
Browns Add P.J. Walker, Alex Leatherwood to Practice Squad
GettyFormer first-round pick Alex Leatherwood is headed for his third team in three years in the NFL.
While the Bears were out enough on both Walker and Leatherwood to pay both of them to go away, the Cleveland Browns seem to think both players are found money.
Cleveland added Walker and Leatherwood to its practice squad following league-wide cutdown day. The Browns are secure at QB with Deshaun Watson and rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson as the Nos. 1 and 2 on the depth chart, meaning Walker’s role in Cleveland will be much the same as Peterman’s in Chicago.
The Browns offensive line coach is Bill Callahan, widely regarded as one of the best position coaches in the league, which should afford Leatherwood as good of a chance to succeed as just about anywhere in the NFL.
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Bears Predicted to Regret Cutting $4 Million QB, Former 1st-Round OT