The Chicago Bears shed themselves of 27 players the past two days. Thus, trimming their roster from 80 to 53 this week. Per league rules, they had to meet Tuesday’s 3:00 p.m. CDT deadline imposed by the NFL. In fact, this most recent wave of roster trimming is the biggest one of the three.
Shaping the 53-man Roster
The initial 53-man roster likely won’t be the the same 53 heading into Week One. Furthermore, the roster situation will remain fluid, especially with so many available players on the waiver wire. These players will find new homes and help those teams at their respective positions of need. Additionally, with the rules that are in place most general managers will look to manipulate their rosters.
This is done specifically with the injured-reserve rules that are in place. The rule states that any injured player can be placed on the IR and are eligible to return at any point in the season after serving a minimum three weeks on the IR. But, it comes with a condition. The player in question has to break camp and make the initial 53-man roster before landing on the IR.
This proves to be a beneficial rule for the Bears. As it pertains to the team, on Wednesday, they can officially place Teven Jenkins on the IR. Then they can activate him at any point after Week Three if he’s healthy enough to play. Likewise, the Bears have a roster spot flexibility with Tarik Cohen, who is currently on the PUP list. If Cohen starts the season on the PUP list, he won’t count against the roster and will be out for the minimum of six weeks. Following those six weeks, the Bears will have to decide on whether Cohen will return to practice or land on the IR. If they chose to have him return to practice, the team will then have three weeks to place him on the active roster or the IR.
Monday Moves
As soon as preseason officially ended on Sunday night, the roster paring began. Now, how exactly did Ryan Pace and company get their roster down to 53?
On Monday, the Bears started the trim down by waiving five players:
As a result, after the five cuts, the Bears roster “unofficially” stood at 74.
Deadline Day Transactions
Now, on Tuesday as the 3:00 p.m. deadline approached, the Bears had approximately twenty-one more players to place on the chopping block. In fact, moves started to trickle in around mid-day. Thus, the Bears made the following transactions:
Waived/Cut
- Dieter Eiselen (OL)
- Artavis Pierce (RB)
- Jon’Vea Johnson (WR)
- Sam Kamara (DL)
- Riley Ridley (WR)
- Thomas Graham Jr. (DB)
- Brian Johnson (K)
- Ryan Nall (RB)
- Tyrone Wheatley Jr. (OL)
- James Vaughters (LB)
- Charles Snowden (LB)
- Arlington Hambright (OL)
- Isaiah Coulter (WR)
- Dazz Newsome (WR)
- Desmond Trufant (CB)
Later in the day, Jason Lieser of the Chicago Tribune revealed the full list of cuts. The following players were cut that were not mentioned earlier in the day.
Additionally, the Bears reached an injury settlement with the following player.
Pennel’s season ended when he landed on the IR last week.
One thing worth noting is some of these players the Bears parted ways with can return on the practice squad if they clear waivers. Both fifth- and sixth-round picks Dazz Newsome and Thomas Graham Jr. were cut, but they will both likely be kept around on the practice squad by Chicago. Just because the deadline has come and gone, doesn’t mean the roster moves are finished.
Initial 53-man roster
Offense: 26 players
| Quarterbacks | Running backs | Tight Ends | Wide Receivers | Offensive Linemen |
| (3) | (3) | (5) | (5) | (10) |
| Andy Dalton | Khalil Herbert | Jimmy Graham | Rodney Adams | Alex Bars |
| Justin Fields | David Montgomery | J.P Holtz | Damiere Byrd | Larry Borom |
| Nick Foles | Damien Williams | Jesper Horsted | Marquise Goodwin | James Daniels |
| Jesse James | Darnell Mooney | Germain Ifedi | ||
| Cole Kmet | Allen Robinson | Teven Jenkins | ||
| Sam Mustipher | ||||
| Jason Peters | ||||
| Lachavious Simmons | ||||
| Cody Whitehair | ||||
| Elijah Wilkinson |
Defense: 24 players
| Outside Linebackers | Inside Linebackers | Defensive Linemen | Cornerbacks | Safeties |
| (4) | (7) | (5) | (4) | (4) |
| Jeremiah Attaochu | Joel Iyiegbuniwe | Angelo Blackson | Xavier Crawford | Deon Bush |
| Trevis Gipson | Caleb Johnson | Eddie Goldman | Jaylon Johnson | Tashaun Gipson Sr |
| Khalil Mack | Christian Jones | Akiem Hicks | Duke Shelley | DeAndre Houston-Carson |
| Robert Quinn | Alec Ogletree | Bilal Nichols | Kindle Vildor | Eddie Jackson |
| Roquan Smith | Khyiris Tonga | |||
| Danny Trevathan | ||||
| Josh Woods |
Special Teams: 3 players
| Punter | Kicker | Long Snapper |
| (1) | (1) | (1) |
| Pat O’Donnell | Cairo Santos | Patrick Scales |
Others: 4 players (don’t count against roster)
| Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) List | Suspended List | Injured-Reserve |
| (1) | (1) | (2) |
| Tarik Cohen (RB) | Mario Edwards Jr. (DL) | Thomas Ives (WR) |
| Jordan Lucas (S) |
Follow On Tap Sports Net on social media!
Listen To Bears On Tap Podcast
BET WITH BETRIVERS ILLINOIS
