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The Chicago Bears are reaching across rivalry lines to secure more pass-catching depth by signing a former Green Bay Packers wide receiver.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Bears are signing 2022 seventh-round pick Samori Toure to their practice squad. The Packers waived him during 53-man roster cuts on August 27 after rostering him for the past two years.
Toure caught 13 passes for 160 yards and one touchdown in 22 career games for the Packers, but the 26-year-old primarily played a backup role behind the team’s other young receivers, including fellow 2022 draft picks Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs.
The Bears kept six wide receivers on their initial 53-man roster, with DJ Moore, Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze projected to receive a bulk of the target shares. Chicago also has 2023 fourth-round pick Tyler Scott in the mix alongside running back hybrid Velus Jones Jr. and DeAndre Carter — both of whom figure to play returner roles.
The Bears will likely sign at least one more wide receiver to their 16-man practice squad before the league deadline at 4 p.m. Eastern time on Wednesday, August 28.
Will Collin Johnson Rejoin Bears on Practice Squad?
The Bears will have no shortage of wide receiver choices for their practice squad, but there is one name that makes more sense than the rest of the field: Collin Johnson.
Johnson caught two touchdowns in the Bears’ preseason opener against the Houston Texans for the annual Hall of Fame game, but an injury sidelined him for the rest of the preseason, blocking his path to the 53-man roster. According to The Chicago Tribune’s Brad Biggs, though, Johnson is now healthy and “is expected to be re-signed to the practice squad” — assuming Johnson does not find a better fit elsewhere in the NFL.
No teams claimed Johnson off the waiver wire on August 28, so the process of the Bears bringing him back should be relatively straightforward.
Johnson — originally a 2020 fifth-round pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars — has caught just 30 passes for 388 yards and two touchdowns in 29 career games, but his 6-foot-6, 222-pound frame makes him a big-bodied target for rookie quarterback Caleb Williams. Even with Toure in the mix, Johnson would likely be the Bears’ first choice for a promotion if they ran into availability issues with their receiving corps.
Bears Also Placed Dante Pettis on Season-Ending IR
The Bears would have probably considered bringing back Dante Pettis for their practice squad if they had released him at the cutdown deadline on August 27. Instead, the 28-year-old will spend a second consecutive regular season on the injured reserve list.
The Bears placed Pettis on injured reserve during their 53-man roster cuts but did not give him a return designation, instead using those designations on defensive end Jacob Martin and offensive tackle Larry Borom. Chicago could have carried Pettis on its initial 53-man roster and then placed him on injured reserve to give him a shot at playing for them again in 2024, but the team ultimately decided it was best to shut him down.
The Bears made a similar decision with Pettis in 2023 when he suffered a preseason injury and landed on injured reserve before the roster cutdown deadline. While the team did not release him with an injury settlement at any point, they did opt to re-sign him to a one-year contract on March 15 — shortly after the start of 2024 free agency.
Whether the Bears will release Pettis with an injury settlement in 2024 remains to be seen. They did not disclose the nature of his injury, so its severity is unclear.
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