Bears Reunite With Former Draft Pick Amid Multiple DL Injuries

Getty Former Bears draft pick Travis Bell has re-signed to the team's practice squad.

The Chicago Bears are re-signing one of their former draft picks with several defensive linemen on their injury report ahead of Week 4’s home game.

According to the team’s transaction wire for September 26, the Bears re-signed second-year defensive tackle Travis Bell to their practice squad and placed Sam Roberts on the practice squad/injured reserve list in a pair of roster moves on Thursday.

Bell — a 2023 seventh-round pick — landed on the Bears’ practice squad after he missed the initial 53-man roster cut ahead of his rookie season, but he only stayed there until October 31 when the Atlanta Falcons poached him for their active roster. He played 30 defensive snaps in two games for the Falcons in 2023, recording two solo tackles.

Bell also spent time on the Cincinnati Bengals’ active roster after the Falcons waived him in mid-December, but he did not appear in any games for the Bengals. He stayed in Cincinnati through the 2024 offseason and competed for a roster spot with the Bengals heading into the 2024 season; though, they ultimately waived him at the cut deadline.

The Bears are re-signing Bell at a time when injuries are mounting on their defensive line. Zacch Pickens has not practiced in nearly two weeks after suffering a groin injury in Week 2’s loss to the Houston Texans. The Bears also downgraded starting defensive tackle Andrew Billings (knee) in Thursday’s practice after limiting him on Wednesday.

Additionally, the Bears placed Roberts — whom they signed to their practice squad after August 27’s roster cutdown — on injured reserve with an unspecific injury, taking him out of the mix for at least the next four games of the 2024 regular season.

Ryan Poles Spoke Highly of Travis Bell After 2023 Draft

Things did not work out for Bell in his first outing with the Bears. While he stood out in the 2023 preseason, the team had veterans Justin Jones and Billings under contract and had also sunk Day 2 picks into Gervon Dexter Sr. and Pickens in the same draft. Ultimately, the Bears kept just four defensive tackles and put Bell on the waivers.

That said, Bears general manager Ryan Poles spoke highly of the Kennesaw State product and his character on multiple occasions following the 2023 NFL draft.

“This is probably one of my favorite human beings,” Bears general manager Ryan Poles said about Bell after the draft in May 2023. “He is a special person. I didn’t want him to leave after his 30 visit and he didn’t want to leave, either. There’s something different about this guy. He is passionate about the game.”

Poles also took his praise a step further in a subsequent interview with NFL Network’s Cynthia Frelund, drawing a comparison between Bell and Falcons star Grady Jarrett.

“When you look at the measurables and the traits, obviously from a small school, but I saw Grady Jarrett-type comp,” Poles told Frelund. “Same size, same testing numbers — almost identical. … Obviously, a big jump in competition [from the FCS], but he’s got the right make-up to do that and the tape is fun to watch.”

Will Bears Need to Elevate DT Depth Against Rams?

Bell’s return could come at an opportune time for him. The Bears still have one more practice to assess the health of their defensive interior against the Los Angeles Rams, but they might need to promote depth from their practice squad for the game if Pickens or some of their other injured defensive linemen cannot suit up on Sunday.

Byron Cowart would likely be the Bears’ first choice for a promotion against the Rams. They elevated him from the practice squad twice in their first three games and seem to trust him as a rotational option behind their active-roster mainstays, which includes versatile defensive lineman DeMarcus Walker — who can play both end and tackle.

Then again, The Bears can only elevate Cowart one more time during the 2024 season. Each practice-squad player is allotted three elevation opportunities in a given season, after which point his team must sign him to the 53-man roster to play him again. The Bears might not mind burning three Cowart’s allotments in the first month, but it may also give them a reason to pump the breaks with him going into the Rams game.

As of September 26, Bell is the only other defensive tackle on the Bears’ practice squad. In other words, if the Bears expend Cowart’s final elevation opportunity in the next few weeks, Bell would become the next man up to receive a promotion on game day.