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The NFL’s roster cutdown day for the 2023 season has come and gone, and the Chicago Bears are now down to the 53-man roster limit for the new year.
The Bears got a head start with the cutdown ahead of their August 26 preseason finale against the Buffalo Bills when they waived wide receiver Joe Reed and tight end Jared Pinkney with injury designations and placed wide receiver Dante Pettis and safety Adrian Colbert on season-ending injured reserve, where they will not count against their 53-man total.
Here’s how all the other roster moves shook out for the Bears in the days leading up to the cut deadline at 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday, August 29:
P.J. Walker, QB
Walker struggled during the preseason for the Bears and had been losing ground to undrafted rookie Tyson Bagent in their battle for the backup quarterback job behind starter Justin Fields, but his release was still a bit unexpected considering the Bears had guaranteed about $2 million of the two-year, $4 million deal he signed in March. Rather than making a financially motivated decision, though, the Bears proved with Walker’s release that they are willing to take a hit if the talent is not living up.
Nathan Peterman, QB
The Bears might have kept three quarterbacks if they had gotten good performances out of both Walker and Bagent, but Peterman never seemed like someone who would earn active-roster consideration, largely because he has a high chance of being able to make it back to their practice squad. According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, the Bears plan to bring him back as their No. 3 quarterback once he clears waivers.
Trestan Ebner, RB (Waived/Injured)
The Bears’ 2022 sixth-round pick seemed to be on the roster bubble from the start of training camp with D’Onta Foreman, Travis Homer and fourth-round rookie Roschon Johnson joining the rotation behind Khalil Herbert. Turns out, according to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune, he has been in concussion protocol since the preseason opener and will never be waived with an injury designation, despite a “strong offseason.”
Robert Burns, RB/FB
Burn, an undrafted rookie out of UConn, had an impressive performance in the second preseason game against Indianapolis, rushing eight times for 40 yards and a touchdown and catching three passes for 15 yards, but he also fumbled in that game. He would have needed to be near-flawless to usurp Khari Blasingame — who signed a two-year extension — as the Bears’ primary fullback. He could return to the practice squad, though, if the Bears want to develop a potential succession plan for Blasingame.
Isaiah Ford, WR (Placed on Injured Reserve)
The Bears added Ford to their receiver competition at the beginning of training camp and saw him catch four passes for 75 yards on five targets while playing in all three of their preseason games. He also blocked a punt against the Bills in the preseason finale to help give the Bears excellent field position and potentially earn himself consideration for the practice squad. With an injury, though, there wasn’t much for Chicago to weigh.
Daurice Fountain, WR
Fountain was the Bears’ leading receiver in the preseason, hauling in seven receptions for 116 yards and a touchdown on 10 targets, but a logjam of talent at the position made it unlikely that he would be able to crack the active-roster rotation. Still, the 27-year-old should be a top candidate for Chicago’s practice squad if he clears the waiver wire.
Nsimba Webster, WR
Even after Dante Pettis landed on injured reserve, Webster never really stood much of a chance of making the Bears’ 53-man roster with D.J. Moore, Darnell Mooney, Chase Claypool, fourth-round rookie Tyler Scott, Equanimeous St. Brown and Velus Jones Jr. all bringing more value to the roster than him. He could return to their practice squad for a third consecutive season, but it might be best for both sides to make a clean break.
Stephen Carlson, TE
Carlson caught five passes for 47 yards with a big-time 28-yard grab in the preseason finale against Buffalo, but he was never seen as having much of a chance to make the roster after the team signed veteran blocking tight end Marcedes Lewis early in camp. He could be a candidate for the practice squad, though, after the Bears waived/injured most of their other roster-contending backup tight ends before the cutdown deadline
Lachlan Pitts, TE
After joining the roster on August 8, Pitts played in just one of three preseason games and was unable to secure either of the passes thrown his way. He showed nothing that would earn him consideration of Carlson for a practice-squad spot — or at all, really.
Alex Leatherwood, OG
Leatherwood was another case of the Bears cutting an unsatisfactory talent instead of feeling pressure to keep him due to money owed. They had claimed him off the waivers during last year’s cutdown deadline after his original team, the Las Vegas Raiders, gave up on him, but he struggled to show out at the offensive tackle position and eventually moved to guard, where he had been competing for a backup spot during training camp.
Ultimately, the Bears decided it would be in their best interest to ditch Leatherwood, even with them on the hook for his remaining $4.59 million in guaranteed money.
Gabe Houy, OG (Injured)
Houy, an undrafted rookie out of Pittsburgh, was vying for a practice-squad spot with the Bears for the 2023 season, but his fate was seemingly sealed on Saturday when he was carted off the field with an injury during the team’s finale against Buffalo.
Dieter Eiselen, G/C
Eiselen might have once stood a chance of making the roster due to his guard/center versatility, but most of that went out the window when the Bears traded for Dan Feeney from the Miami Dolphins on the night before the cutdown deadline. Nevertheless, he had a solid preseason, allowing zero pressures in two of his three games and holding up well as a run-blocker in a scheme that demands such skills.
Josh Lugg, G/C
Lugg — formerly of Notre Dame — was one of the Bears’ least impressionable rookies of the preseason, playing just eight snaps at center in the opener against Tennessee and then riding the bench for the remainder of the exhibition slate. He was presumed gone.
Logan Stenberg, G/C
Stenberg was claimed off the waivers from the Detroit Lions on August 11 and saw action in the Bears’ final two preseason games, allowing one pressure and one hurry over his 27 pass-blocking snaps and receiving the team’s second-highest run-blocking grade (84.3) behind Larry Borom. Chicago trading for Feeney, though, likely deterred them from keeping him around on their initial roster.
Aviante Collins, OT
The Bears signed the 30-year-old Collins to their roster before camp practices began and got him significant action (127 total snaps) over the course of the preseason, but his seven seasons of experience in the NFL did not help him outperform Borom or Kellen Diesch in the roster battle. He could return to the practice squad, but they could also probably find someone else who has played in more than two games in two seasons.
Kellen Diesch, OT
Diesch was considered a candidate for one of the backup offensive tackle spots on the Bears’ 2023 roster and performed well over his three-game preseason run, surrendering just one sack and four pressures over 52 pass-blocking snaps and looking formidable in the run game. With Larry Borom outperforming him, though — and a waiver wire that could offer more experienced tackle options — the Bears opted to cut him loose.
Diesch could be another promising candidate for the Bears’ practice squad.
Bobby Haskins, OT
Undrafted out of USC, Haskins played 33 preseason snaps at the right tackle position and held up nicely in his most extended reps against Indianapolis in the second game, allowing no pressures or sacks over 14 pass-blocking snaps with a strong 80.3 grade from Pro Football Focus. He allowed a pressure and a hurry on just two snaps against the Bills, though, which could hurt his chances of returning to the practice squad.
Travis Bell, IDL
Bears general manager Ryan Poles glowed about Bell after using a seventh-round pick on him in the 2023 draft, but it makes sense that they would cut him loose with two rookies and two veterans available to man the interior roles. He is expected to return to the Bears — predictably — on the practice squad, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.
Andrew Brown, IDL
Brown had the deck stacked against him a bit in his quest for a roster spot after the Bears signed Andrew Billings in free agency and drafted three new rookies, including second-round Gervon Dexter Sr. and third-rounder Zacch Pickens. It didn’t help that the 27-year-old did little to distinguish himself in the preseason, finishing with five pressures, five hurries and four tackles over his 66 total exhibition snaps. He could provide depth on the practice squad, but the Bears likely have stronger options.
Bravvion Roy, IDL
The Bears signed Roy — a former 15-game starter for the Carolina Panthers — during the second week of training camp to add more depth to the interior of their defensive line, but he struggled to make a compelling roster case for himself in the preseason with just one tackle and one pressure over 48 defensive snaps. He finished as the seventh-lowest-graded defensive player (41.0) on the Bears’ roster in the preseason, per PFF.
Roy Mbaeteka, DL
The Nigerian import via the NFL’s International Player Pathway program switched from offensive tackle to defensive lineman over the course of training camp but did not get the opportunity to play in the preseason. Still, the Bears are allowed to keep him on their practice squad without him counting against the 16-man limit due to his participation in the pathway program designed to add more foreign players to the NFL.
Trevis Gipson, DE
Gipson denies ever requesting a trade from the Bears, but the writing has been on the wall for him since the team released its first unofficial depth chart of training camp — which listed the former starter as a fourth-stringer in the rotation. Despite doing just about everything he could to persuade the Bears he belonged on their roster — such as racking up a league-high 14 pressures in the preseason — it seems there was just not a place for him in the rotation in the minds of the coaching staff.
The 2020 fifth-round pick will most likely not clear the waivers and, even if he did, seems to have closed the book on his NFL chapter in Chicago.
Jalen Harris, DE
Harris recorded two sacks, three quarterback hurries and seven pressures over his three preseason appearances and, at times, looked well beyond the normal skill range for an undrafted rookie. If the Bears were unwilling to keep a fourth-year veteran in Gipson for their pass-rushing rotation, though, Harris didn’t stand much of a chance.
D’Anthony Jones, DE
Jones, an undrafted rookie out of Houston, generated the second-most eight pressures for the Bears in the preseason behind former starter Trevis Gipson (14) and looked like he could have an outside shot at cracking the rotation thanks to his dominant play off the edge, but the signing of Yannick Ngakoue in early August and the emergence of Terrell Smith as a quality rotational option left no spots left for him on the roster.
If Jones clears waivers, the Bears could continue to develop him on the practice squad.
Micah Baskerville, LB
The former LSU standout showed quickness and aggression over his three preseason outings for the Bears over the past month, notching one sack and five defensive stops, but the overload of talent at the position boxed him out. As a promising rookie talent, though, he should have a decent chance of being retained for the practice squad.
DeMarquis Gates, LB
Gates received two game-day elevations from the practice squad in 2022 and was bumped up to the active roster down the stretch while others were injured, but an improved group of linebackers left Gates with a next-to-no shot at making the team. He could reprise his role on the practice squad if the Bears remain intrigued by his upside.
Davion Taylor, LB
The Bears shuffled around their bottom-depth pieces at the linebacker position a few times during training camp with Tremaine Edmunds and Jack Sanborn each dealing with injuries, but the competition never felt like it truly extended beyond Dylan Cole and Mykal Walker for the fifth spot in the linebacker rotation, which generally demands a certain quality of special teams play that Taylor never showed in the preseason.
Barrington Wade, LB
Another linebacker who was added mid-camp, Wade played in every preseason game and was a relatively active member of their special teams (35 snaps), but he was unable to set himself apart in a race for, likely, just one depth spot in the rotation.
Mykal Walker, LB
There was a chance Walker could have stuck around if the Bears had decided to keep six linebackers on their initial 53-man roster, but the 2020 fourth-round pick did finish as one of the Pro Football Focus’ lowest-graded defenders on Chicago’s preseason roster. In the end, the Bears mostly just used Walker to validate their decisions, particularly with Dylan Cole being serviceable as both a backup linebacker and special teams asset.
Michael Ojemudia, CB
Ojemudia was a 2020 third-round pick for the Denver Broncos who seemed like he could have a shot at earning a depth role with the Bears after a strong preseason. He was dominant in coverage over his three exhibition performances, allowing three receptions for 29 yards on nine targets and recording four pass breakups — including three breakups he recorded in the finale against the Bills as a perimeter corner.
Don’t be surprised if the Bears bring him back for the practice squad. If an injury strikes during the season, he would make sense as their top game-day elevation option.
Kindle Vildor, CB
The Bears drafted three cornerbacks over the past two offseasons and still have Jaylon Johnson in place as their top cornerback — potentially for the long-term if they decide to sign him to a contract extension in the next several months. Either way, there was not much of a place left for Vildor in the rotation after he started nine games for their defense during the 2022 season. While he did not always play the most high-quality ball for the Bears, he should garner enough interest to be claimed off the waivers.
Macon Clark, CB/S
Clark, an undrafted rookie out of Tulane, played both slot cornerback and safety for the Bears during his three preseason games, but he was unable to set himself apart as a legitimate roster contender over the past month of training camp. It is unclear if he has much of a shot of returning as a member of the practice squad.
Bralen Trahan, S
An undrafted rookie out of Louisiana, Trahan was vying for one of the backup safety roles behind Eddie Jackson and Jaquan Brisker and saw his odds of making it improve when Adrian Colbert landed on season-ending injured reserve last week. Still, even with an interception in the preseason opener, the 24-year-old was left behind; although, he could potentially be a candidate to return to the practice squad after a solid camp.
Kendall Williamson, S
Another seventh-round rookie missing the cut, Williamson was more productive in the preseason and is coming off his best game, logging 28 snaps against the Bills and breaking up a pass the only time he was targetted in the loss. Still, he was a bit too unrefined as an NFL defender to confidently trust as one of the backups behind Jackson and Brisker in 2023. Expect the Bears to bring back him for the practice squad.
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