These Bears veterans could be on cut watch this summer, after starting for team in years past

These Bears veterans could be on cut watch this summer, after starting for team in years past originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago

Instead of following key position battles for the Bears this summer, we’ll be doing things like tracking Caleb Williams completions and counting takeaways for the talented defense. After tearing down the roster in 2022, GM Ryan Poles has built it back up again. There’s significantly better talent across the board this year than last year. Accordingly, most– if not all– of the starters are already in place.

So the battles won’t be at the top of the depth chart, they’ll be at the bottom.

“It’s gonna be hard to make this team now,” said Poles last month. “It’s gonna be really hard to make this team.”

Many of the players who don’t make the roster will be undrafted free agents and practice squad guys. But with the improved talent at every position group, some veterans and even former starters could be on the cutting block this year.

Here’s a look at four Bears veterans who may not break camp with the team:

KHARI BLASINGAME - FULLBACK

Blasingame is still a good lead blocker and his significant playing time on special teams would be valuable to any team. But it’s unclear how he’ll fit into Shane Waldron’s offense. When Waldron was running the show in Seattle, he didn’t have a designated fullback and opted to throw a big wide receiver or even a linebacker in the backfield when the team called for an extra blocker. Will Blasingame’s special teams contributions be enough to keep him around? Or will the team go for an extra blocking tight end or linebacker instead?

LARRY BOROM - SWING TACKLE

Over the course of Borom’s rookie season back in 2021 it appeared like he could be on track to start at right tackle for years to come. He took over for Germain Ifedi early in the season and played well. But when Poles took over the team, he had a different vision for offensive linemen than Ryan Pace and the previous regime. Borom soon fell out of favor and went back to the bench. Last year Borom got some tick as a backup, but he struggled. With newcomers Matt Pryor, Kiran Amegadjie and Jake Curhan in the mix, Borom could be one of the players left off the roster this fall.

VELUS JONES JR. - WIDE RECEIVER / RETURN SPECIALIST

The Bears believe the NFL’s new kickoff rules will specifically help Jones Jr. succeed this season, and there’s a chance that new wide receivers coach Chris Beatty helps to get Jones Jr. up to speed on offense better than former WRs coach Tyke Tolbert did. However the Bears wide receiver room is much more crowded now than it was in 2022 when Jones Jr. joined the team. DJ Moore, Keenan Allen and Rome Odunze are locked into the top-three wide receiver spots. After that, Tyler Scott, Dante Pettis, Collin Johnson, Freddie Swain, Jones Jr. and several others will compete for whatever playing time is left. If Jones Jr. struggles on special teams in camp, or if any of the others outperform him as a returner, he could be gone this fall.

DOMINIQUE ROBINSON - DEFENSIVE END

Robinson is another mid-round draft pick who looked to be on the right track (extremely) early in his career. In his very first game, Robinson notched 1.5 sacks, which included one nifty move to get past 49ers star left tackle Trent Williams. Since that big debut however, Robinson has only managed 0.5 sacks over 27 games with seven starts. Even with Austin Booker joining the rotation, defensive end is not the deepest group on the team, so Robinson might stick around thanks to a numbers game alone. But if some player like Khalid Kareem or Jacob Martin outperforms him over the summer, the Bears could cut bait.

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