Brad Biggs’ 10 thoughts on the Chicago Bears: Backup quarterback quandary — and projecting the 53-man roster
10 thoughts after the Chicago Bears concluded the preseason Saturday afternoon with a 24-21 loss to the Buffalo Bills at Soldier Field, a game that the team added a little more intrigue to a forthcoming decision on the backup quarterback job.
Wrapping up the preseason with a lot of nuggets, moving parts — and a 53-man roster projection.
1. Coach Matt Eberflus said the Bears had a hard cap of 13 plays for quarterback Justin Fields.
That’s how Eberflus explained pulling Fields after a screen pass to D’Onta Foreman set up first-and-goal from the Bills 9-yard line on the first play of the second quarter.
Fields got drilled pretty good by Bills defensive tackle Ed Oliver on the play. Oliver slipped inside of right guard Ja’Tyre Carter and was headed straight for Fields as Foreman leaked out of the backfield to be in position for the pass. Oliver wound up hitting Fields pretty good in the left shoulder, sending him to the turf.
”Just play number,” Eberflus said of replacing Fields with undrafted rookie Tyson Bagent after that play. “(Fields) was finishing his play number there. He converted that third down and Tyson came in. Pretty easy to figure out there. Wasn’t excited that he got hit on that one. It’s a screen pass, it wasn’t supposed to be like that. Drift a little bit more. He did fine.”
If Eberflus said Fields took a good shot from Oliver and they wanted to remove him from harm’s way, it would make more sense to me. If he said they specifically wanted to see Bagent operate in the low red zone, it would make more sense to me. Maybe it’s just me, but 13 strikes me as a particularly odd number of plays to have as what turned into a hard cap for Fields.
Whatever the case, and it really doesn’t matter at this point, Fields took a total of 20 snaps in the preseason — seven in Week 1 against the Tennessee Titans — and the baker’s dozen here and it’s on to the regular season.
In his brief outing — the Bears went three-and-punt on their first two possessions — Fields completed 2 of 6 passes for 51 yards and ran three times for 16 yards. The big play came on a great catch-and-run by wide receiver DJ Moore. He got open in zone coverage in the middle of the field and turned a 16-yard completion into a 40-yard gain with 24 yards after the catch, the latest example in how physical and elusive he can be with the ball in his hands. The Bills lost contain on the edge on the first play of the series, and Fields quickly ran for 13 yards. Tack on the effective screen to Foreman, and that was about it.
The big question — which ultimately will be answered during the season — is how much better will Fields and the offense be this season?
”I feel like I’m ready,” Fields said. “Us as a whole team, we’re ready. The biggest thing is of course mentally preparing for Green Bay and seeing what they’re doing. I’m just glad today that I got a couple of deep shots, although we didn’t connect, but it was kind of good. It felt good throwing the ball downfield to DJ and Moon (Darnell Mooney). We just talked about it. Feel good but I think the only thing now is just game-planning and watching film on those guys.”
Looking ahead, two things jump out at me. The first is Moore. He brings a physical presence to the receiver position the team hasn’t had since Brandon Marshall was catching passes from Jay Cutler. Moore is more slippery than Marshall was too. They’re different receivers.
The second is the screen game. The Bears worked on it a ton this offseason and in training camp, and of the five passes Fields completed in the preseason, three came on screens. They’ve gotten better along the line in terms of executing the timing of the play, and watching Moore, Foreman and Khalil Herbert against the Titans, they can use a variety of receivers. I’m confident running back Roschon Johnson will be an effective pass catcher. You probably can add Mooney and Chase Claypool to the list. There are a ton of ways offensive coordinator Luke Getsy can dress up screen plays from every personnel grouping and formation imaginable. It figures to be a weapon used to combat pressure from opposing defenses, and these are simple, easy throws for Fields, especially if he can avoid the pressure that got to him in the presence of Oliver in this game.
I’ve written about it multiple times since the start of the offseason: The Bears were terrible when it came to getting running backs involved in the passing game last season, and it looks as if they are aiming to be significantly better in that department. Again, we’re talking about high-percentage passes for Fields, plays in which he can get the ball out of hands quickly.
Are the Bears going to be significantly better in other ways offensively? They led the NFL in rushing a year ago and should be one of the more productive units again, provided there aren’t serious problems on the line. We’ll have to see if the passing game beyond Moore and the screen game can be significantly improved this season. The passing game was choppy a lot of days in training camp. They don’t drop back and sling the ball real well with a lot of continuity.
”I know there is a lot of hype around Fields because of the plays he made with his legs last year,” an NFC scout said last week. “That and the talent upgrades have created a lot of hype. To me, his eyes are the biggest issue. Still a big question mark if he can see the field and work through progressions. He wants to run first, drops his eyes to the rush and look for running lanes too often. Hard to succeed when that’s the case.”
The entire offense hasn’t been together much since training camp opened. Claypool has missed a lot of time. The line has had a bunch of moving parts, and tight end Marcedes Lewis is still a newcomer. There is reason to believe the Bears will be better offensively in October than September. We’ll find out how much better soon.
And maybe Eberflus is superstitious and really likes No. 13. That shouldn’t be discounted.
2. Ryan Poles usually gets in a solid 20 to 30 minutes of light exercise before the game.
The Bears general manager briskly walks the edge of the field before pregame warmups. Joining Poles on his walk Saturday morning was offensive coordinator Luke Getsy. It’s worth wondering what topics they covered as they circled Soldier Field time and again. Were the ultimate decision maker and essentially the coach of the offense — Matt Eberflus has a defensive background, of course — discussing the decision that lies ahead for them at quarterback after starter Justin Fields?
Tyson Bagent was the first quarterback off the bench, replacing Fields on the second play of the second quarter, and Eberflus explained that was because they wanted to give all three challengers — Bagent, P.J. Walker and Nathan Peterman — time with the second unit in preseason. It was Bagent’s turn, and he produced 10 points on five series (I didn’t credit him with the field goal for the series when he replaced Fields in a first-and-goal situation).
Walker didn’t get into the game until the fourth quarter but had a touchdown pass to fullback Robert Burns and finished 6 of 11 for 71 yards, completing a nice 28-yard pass to tight end Stephen Carlson.
”You know, I had my struggles this preseason,” said Walker, who was pretty straightforward after the game. “Any opportunity is the best opportunity, so I just wanted to go out there and take advantage of the chances that I had no matter what quarter it was — first, second, third or fourth. Just go out there execute and move the ball, just show what I can do.”
Walker acknowledged that after opening training camp as the presumptive No. 2, it has turned into a dogfight.
”I ain’t a fool,” he said. “I can read the room. I know what it is. It’s a business, and if you ain’t performing, you ain’t going to be able to play. So for me it’s just go out there, perform at a high level or you don’t play. That’s what it is.”
Walker had a pretty small sample size of preseason action to evaluate as a whole. The problem is some of his work in practice was bumpy as well. All of it will factor in the decision the team makes as it sets a depth chart to begin the season.
”We’ve got to see where it is,” Eberflus said. “We’re going to sit down as a group and talk about it, and we’ll see who it is. No decisions have been made. So we’re going to watch the tape and then talk about what the best thing for the Bears is. And that’s what we always do. What’s best for the Bears?”
Getsy referenced experience earlier in the week as one of the factors that would be considered when discussing the No. 2 role. It’s one thing for Bagent to go out and complete 20 of 29 passes for 159 yards (5.4 yards per attempt) in the preseason against largely backups. It’s another thing to throw him into the fire against another team during the season if something happens to Fields.
My guess is Walker’s better effort — no, it wasn’t great — will steady things somewhat when a decision is due. But it’s just a guess.
3. The last time the Bears had a buzz about a young quarterback down on the depth chart was 2002.
Ken Mastrole led a game-winning drive against the St. Louis Rams in Week 2 of the 2002 preseason at the Edward Jones Dome.
Mastrole entered with 2 minutes, 17 seconds remaining and the Bears on their 19-yard line, trailing 17-13. He connected with Kenny Christian on a 52-yard play streaking down the left side after a defensive pass interference call on fourth down kept the drive alive. Then, facing fourth-and-10 from the Rams 15 with 61 seconds remaining, Mastrole hit Christian with a back-shoulder throw for a touchdown.
All of a sudden, Mastrole was the hot quarterback in camp behind starter Jim Miller and backup Chris Chandler as a candidate for the No. 3 job when it was customary for teams to carry three QBs on the 53-man roster. His competition was Henry Burris, who had starred in the CFL and eventually would return there to become a Hall of Fame player.
”In the beginning going through, it was like you were skating by because obviously I didn’t have the most successful college career and bounced around, coaching changes, all of that stuff,” said Mastrole, who had played at Maryland and then Rhode Island before the Bears signed him and sent him to NFL Europe. “Going in, it was crazy. I had worked out for the Bears on the day of Sept. 11 (2001). I had the workout and I remember being stuck in Chicago for a couple days. I was notified after they were going to eventually sign me.
”You don’t know the politics and everything that goes on behind the scenes. But as I got closer toward the finish line — the end of camp — I really thought I had an opportunity. Vets can say what they want, but I remember certain guys saying they were going to lobby for me a little bit. I thought I was getting more reps in practice, and you don’t get a lot when you’re the third or fourth (string). I thought I played well enough against Miami (in the final preseason game). Didn’t do anything spectacular. There was always the thought of, ‘This is a business and I could get cut.’ Burris had a little more experience. I thought maybe I would have a shot but I wasn’t completely shocked when I got cut at the end of camp.”
Mastrole wound up getting some tryouts afterward and played arena ball but never caught on — he never got a shot with an NFL team in the regular season. He quickly transitioned into coaching and runs the Mastrole Passing Academy based in Fort Myers, Fla., where he trained Bagent, a record-setter at Division II Shepherd University in West Virginia, starting in December.
”I didn’t know a lot about him,” Mastrole said. “Hard to follow D-II or D-III quarterbacks through the season. We had a conversation and I did some research, watched a lot of film on him. So he came down in December for what was really a two-day tryout or workout, an assessment. I saw where his inefficiencies were, things he was doing at the collegiate level — his back foot would pop up off the ground when he threw or his energy was going away from the target. He wasn’t as efficient as I thought he could be. I tested him. I put him on different things from ... muscle deficiencies, functional strength deficiencies and then balance and posture deficiencies throwing from different positions.”
It was the start of a nine-week training process as Mastrole prepared Bagent for the Senior Bowl, where he played for offensive coordinator Luke Getsy, and the pre-draft process. He exposed Bagent to NFL veterans such as retired coach Brad Childress. They went through everything from weighted-ball training to functional strength work and X’s and O’s.
”The thing that stood out to me is Tyson was so football intense,” Mastrole said. “Getting on the board, he wanted me to challenge him more. It reminded me of some of the smarter football IQ guys I have been around.
”Incredible demeanor. Never got emotional about things. He just stays in the moment and understands the situation. He’s a perfect example of a guy that came from a small town in West Virginia, under-recruited because he was probably your tweener, average guy coming out of high school. When you’re going to these camps you’re saying here’s a guy that is 6-foot-2, 190 pounds and I can find a million of those in high school football.”
The thing that jumped out about Bagent in training camp, and really going back to the spring, was he has an NFL clock in his mind. He knows how the play is supposed to progress. He has a sense of when the ball is supposed to come out. That is not something you see in a lot of rookie quarterbacks, including ones that were drafted.
”From what I have seen and what I have trained over the years, and I know it all matters what you’re putting on film, he belongs in the league,” Mastrole said. “I hope it’s with the Bears. I do believe, no doubt, he can be at least a backup in the NFL. He’s got that potential. He’s got the size, the athletic ability, the football IQ. He’s showing you his accuracy too.
”He’s going to know the offense. Even though it is vanilla in the preseason, he’s executing. You can either play or you can’t play. Coaches are creatures of habit too. They always lean on, ‘This guy has experience.’ You see guys getting recycled in the league where you wonder, ‘How is that guy still in the league?’ I think he belongs.”
4. The Bears have had some issues on the interior of the offensive line worthy of concern.
Left guard Teven Jenkins could be sidelined for much or all of September, meaning he could miss three or more games with a leg injury. Information about Jenkins’ situation — at least enough to know he’s not dealing with a short-term injury — was readily available shortly after it happened. After the game Saturday, he left the locker room wearing a walking boot on his right foot and was moving gingerly.
The status of right guard Nate Davis has been an onlooker (or not present during practice) during the majority of training camp. Davis has not taken a snap in preseason, and whether he’ll be ready for the season opener is anyone’s best guess. For what it’s worth, Matt Eberflus hasn’t moved him out of the “day-to-day” group of injured players, which is a positive. Davis, however, was being ramped up in practice and then was quickly absent again.
Then Cody Whitehair suffered what the team called a “minor” hand injury. From the press box, it appeared Whitehair had the fingers on his right hand taped and just a regular glove on his left hand. That would indicate the injury is to his right (snapping) hand. I believe the injury is minor because if it weren’t, he wouldn’t have played in this game.
Lucas Patrick initially slotted in at center with Whitehair shifting to left guard with Jenkins sidelined. Then Patrick missed more practice time as well as Saturday’s game. So there is more going on here than just Jenkins’ injury.
Late in the first quarter, on the 40-yard pass play to DJ Moore, No. 3 center Doug Kramer came off a double-team block with right guard Ja’Tyre Carter to help on blitzing linebacker A.J. Klein (part of the haul the Bears received from the Baltimore Ravens in the Roquan Smith trade last season), and Kramer wound up on the ground. He immediately left the game and was replaced by Dieter Eiselen. After the game, Kramer had a heavy wrap on his right hand, but I would stop short of calling it a cast.
”We think he’s going to be OK,” Eberflus said. “We’ll see where it goes. We’ll take a look at it here overnight and see because a lot of times some things happen overnight. It looks positive.”
This is of note because the Green Bay Packers in Week 1 — and opponents that follow on the schedule — are going to want to attack the offense and quarterback Justin Fields straight up the middle. This doesn’t require any deep thinking, and opponents tried this last season with varying degrees of success. The idea is to keep Fields in the pocket and prevent him from gashing the defense with his legs when a rush that doesn’t get home creates an alley — or even when Fields eludes a rusher and finds a path. When Fields sneaked out for a 13-yard run Saturday it was because the rush to his left was quickly washed upfield. Opponents will attempt to contain their pass rush from the edges and pressure from the inside where there is a shorter path to the quarterback and it is more difficult for Fields to be evasive. In that situation, it’s more difficult or impossible for Fields to step up in the pocket and deliver the ball. If edge rushers get too high, Fields will have a lane to high-step it downfield for chunk gains.
Opponents are going to want to force Fields to be a pocket passer, and it requires a disciplined pass rush with an emphasis on creating havoc straight up the middle. That seems like a pretty simple strategy even if the Bears are healthy up front. With potential moving parts on the line — and the Bears’ first response was to move Whitehair to fill a hole with Patrick at center — it’s even more obvious.
The Bears need to reduce the number of sacks they allowed dramatically, something that was a product of poor play all the way around — line, quarterback, wide receivers — a year ago. Fields’ sack percentage was 14.75%, easily the highest in the league. That doesn’t account for the broken plays that he extended and ran for positive yardage. But it’s worth noting it was the highest sack percentage among quarterbacks with 250 or more passes since Jake Plummer of the Arizona Cardinals was at 14.94% during his rookie season in 1997. Fields’ percentage is even higher than David Carr in 2002, when he was sacked a league-record 76 times with the Houston Texans, finishing at 14.62%. It’s not all on the interior of the line to reduce the sack percentage. It’s the entire offense.
Clearly the Bears will attempt to come up with answers in their game plan, and the screen game could be one solution. This figures to be something to keep an eye, especially with Jenkins’ durability in question even when he returns. Davis missed eight games over the last two seasons with the Tennessee Titans, and it wasn’t unusual for him to miss practice time. Game time is what is going to matter for him. The interior of the line should be watched closely.
5. Defensive end Yannick Ngakoue and middle linebacker Tremaine Edmunds appeared in preseason action for the first time.
It’s not overstating it to say they could be the two most important pieces to improvements for the defense this season. Edmunds was the jewel of the free-agent class, signed to a four-year, $72 million contract, and Ngakoue is an edge rusher Ryan Poles played the long game to land, adding him a week into training camp.
A lot of other important parts have to click for this unit to be better, and I’d begin at defensive tackle, where the Bears really struggled last season, and note the play of rookie cornerback Tyrique Stevenson, who had a nice interception along the Bills sideline, as essential components.
The defense hasn’t been at full strength in preseason or in training camp, but safeties Eddie Jackson and Jaquan Brisker are supposed to be returning from minor injuries, as is defensive end DeMarcus Walker. I’d also note that defensive coordinator Alan Williams wasn’t specifically game-planning for opposing offenses in the preseason as he will in Week 1.
Williams’ defense had some big days in training camp, really stifling the offense at times. But against the Tennessee Titans in the preseason opener and against the Bills, the opposition went right through a collection of Bears starters on game-opening drives. The Titans marched 75 yards on 12 plays covering 7 minutes, 15 seconds and going 3-for-3 on third down to score. That was with Malik Willis at quarterback. The Josh Allen-led Bills went 72 yards on 12 plays in 6:35 for a touchdown, also converting 3-of-3 third downs.
The Bears were dreadful on third down last season, last in the league at 49.02%. That is the worst figure in franchise history, and only seven other defenses have been worse dating to 1991. It was a function if a lot of things. The Bears allowed opponents to be in way too many third-and-short situations. They lacked the hint of a pass rush. They didn’t have playmakers who could step up and make a big play in key situations.
They appear to have a roster with more playmakers this season, and I’m particularly interested to see how rookie defensive tackles Zachh Pickens and Gervon Dexter will perform. The return of Jackson and Brisker will round out what can be a very good secondary. Nickel cornerback Kyler Gordon should be poised for a better season after an impressive training camp. But this unit didn’t stand up real well in the preseason in what thankfully is a small sample size.
6. Playing the waiver-claim game.
At this time last August, the bottom of the depth chart appeared uncertain at a number of positions, and I set an over/under for new players to be added in the days after initial cuts to the 53-man roster at 4 1/2.
The team claimed six players off waivers: cornerback Josh Blackwell, defensive linemen Kingsley Jonathan and Armon Watts, offensive lineman Alex Leatherwood, tight end Trevon Wesco and linebacker Sterling Weatherford. Watts (35 tackles, 1 sack) got the most usage, logging 532 snaps on defense, fourth among tackles on the roster. Wesco had 181 snaps on offense. Blackwell and Leatherwood remain with the team.
The Bears were seventh in the waiver order last year. They are currently No. 1 in the waiver process and will remain there through Week 3. At that point, waiver order is determined based on current standings.
Before camp, I would have forecast fewer than six waiver claims this year after initial cuts. It’s a little more murky now because of injuries. Will shuffling be required on the offensive line? Will an intriguing defensive lineman become available? What about a fourth safety? Will what the team believes is a groin injury for rookie linebacker Noah Sewell prompt a move?
Six waiver claims seem a little high to me because the more players the Bears claim, the more spaces need to be created. The front office has two draft classes it wants to see developed. So let’s once again set an over/under at 4 1/2.
The history of GM Ryan Poles can be informative the longer he’s in charge because you can get a basic idea of the number of players the team wants to keep at each position. Different factors — health being one of them — can influence decisions, and a 53-man roster is never “set.” It’s always going to be fluid. Keep in mind any players the Bears are considering for injured reserve (left guard Teven Jenkins or Sewell?) cannot be placed on IR and designated to return until after the team establishes an initial 53-man roster.
Here are the numbers at each position when the Bears established their 53-man roster last August before the flurry of waiver claims.
Quarterback: 2
Running back: 3
Fullback: 1
Wide receiver: 7*
Tight end: 3
Offensive line: 9
Defensive line: 8
Linebacker: 6
Cornerback: 6
Safety: 5
Special teams: 3
* Wide receiver N’Keal Harry was carried on the 53-man roster and subsequently placed on injured reserve to begin the season.
7. Projecting the Bears offense after cuts to the 53-man roster.
Quarterbacks (3): Justin Fields, P.J. Walker, Tyson Bagent
Walker did not play well in a small sample size of preseason action before a better showing against the Bills. Also concerning is that his training camp was bumpy. The Bears signed Walker on March 16 to a two-year, $4 million contract with $2.01 million guaranteed. Was he their top target as a backup to Fields? That was a decision made on comprehensive scouting reports compiled on Walker, who made seven starts over the previous three seasons with the Carolina Panthers and starred for the Houston Roughnecks in the XFL in 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the season. Walker was 5-0 as a starter for the Roughnecks with a league-leading 1,338 yards and 15 touchdown passes, enough to earn him a contract with the Panthers.
Last year, the Bears valued Trevor Siemian in the backup role, in part because of the help he could provide Fields in the meeting room. One of the biggest questions in the next few days will be what happens with undrafted rookie Tyson Bagent, who ran for a touchdown for the second straight week and continued to appear pretty savvy in the pocket, especially for a rookie. We probably can rule Nathan Peterman out for the backup job. In a certain situation, he potentially could be on the practice squad, where he was for the majority of last season.
Poles doesn’t strike me as the kind of guy who will compound a mistake by refusing to acknowledge it, but coaches value experience, which is why I would lean toward Walker making the roster. Originally I figured Bagent would be exposed to waivers with the team aiming to re-sign him to the practice squad. He has been poised in preseason, and what appeals to the Bears was all detailed above. But they might like the idea of ensuring they have a young quarterback in the pipeline. Injury uncertainties the team has at a number of positions could make keeping three quarterbacks on the 53-man roster more difficult, but the roster the team has at 3:01 p.m. Tuesday will unquestionably look different by the time they kick off Week 1 against the Packers.
Running backs (5): Khalil Herbert, D’Onta Foreman, Roschon Johnson, Travis Homer, Khari Blasingame (fullback)
The Bears have been pretty straightforward in saying they will have a back-by-committee approach, and in order to successfully do that, they need a full committee. I thought Trestan Ebner had a decent shot at cracking the roster, but he has been sidelined in the concussion protocol since the preseason opener, and the other four running backs appear pretty set.
The team values Foreman for being a physical runner who can get work in short-yardage and goal-line situations. Johnson appears to have a bright future, and Homer, although he missed some practice time last week, should be in good standing after signing a two-year, $4 million contract with $1.75 million guaranteed with the idea of being a core special teams contributor.
We will see if the offense has more work for Blasingame as the fullback this season. He logged 174 snaps (18%) last season.
Wide receivers (6): DJ Moore, Darnell Mooney, Chase Claypool, Tyler Scott, Velus Jones Jr., Equanimeous St. Brown
The first five appear to be locks — I doubt the Bears are ready to give up on Jones, who had one hiccup on a muffed punt against the Titans two weeks ago. The only other option as a punt returner on the roster is probably Scott, unless Nsimba Webster somehow makes the cut. They’re still hopeful Jones can settle in as a punt returner and believe he has a role because of his ability on kickoff returns and as an open-field threat and gadget player on offense.
The sixth spot is where I am unsure. I leaned toward Dante Pettis earlier in the week before the unknown injury he suffered led the team to place him on injured reserve. I figured he might rate an edge over St. Brown because he’s a sure-handed option with experience returning punts. With Pettis no longer in the mix, the Bears figure to have St. Brown, Daurice Fountain or Webster if they go with a sixth receiver. The only reason I include Webster is he’s also a returner with some experience.
The Bears applauded St. Brown for his effort as a run blocker last season. He signed a one-year, $1.25 million contract with $170,000 guaranteed to return. That’s not enough money to make cutting him prohibitive. I understand why the team valued him last season when he started 16 games and was on the field for 555 snaps (57%). But if Claypool is healthy Week 1 — and that could be a part of the discussion — is St. Brown needed? He was a minor part of the passing game last season with 38 targets, 21 receptions, 323 yards and one touchdown. I struggle to find a place for him in the offense if the players in front of him are healthy. That said, he knows the system having worked with offensive coordinator Luke Getsy in Green Bay, and that is a factor when you talk about qualities desired in a backup. It’s possible the Bears will go outside the organization for options as a punt returner.
Tight ends (3): Cole Kmet, Robert Tonyan, Marcedes Lewis
The Bears will need to go light at one position — and I predict it is tight end — if they keep five running backs (fullback included). This seems pretty straightforward as I don’t see a real challenger for a fourth spot on the roster. It’s a versatile group, and the Bears are betting on Kmet being a more significant part of the offense after signing him to a four-year, $50 million extension. This would be a position I would watch closely for a new face to be added to the group on the practice squad. Stephen Carlson and Lachlan Pitts are the in-house candidates.
Offensive line (9): Braxton Jones, Teven Jenkins, Cody Whitehair, Nate Davis, Darnell Wright, Larry Borom, Lucas Patrick, Ja’Tyre Carter, Alex Leatherwood
Injuries have made this an exercise that involves wearing a blindfold. Jenkins is expected to be on the shelf when the season opens, and depending on the severity of his leg injury, he could be a candidate for injured reserve before the Sept. 10 game against the Green Bay Packers. Davis has missed the majority of training camp, but the team hasn’t hinted to a possibility that he will miss time. Whitehair has a minor right hand injury. Patrick has missed the majority of practices over the last two weeks, and Wright recently suffered what looked to be a minor right ankle sprain. Add it up and the Bears have had days when four of their projected top six or seven linemen were not on the field.
If Whitehair’s injury impedes his ability to snap the football, would that create a space for Doug Kramer, a second-year player who spent all of the 2022 season on IR? How serious is Kramer’s right hand injury? Is Diester Eiselen then an option? Do the Bears have faith in Borom to perform as a swing tackle, or is that one of the positions they will be looking at cuts to find a replacement? Borom’ came out of the game with the starting offensive line.
When camp opened, the starting offensive line appeared to be set. The availability questions at this point make this a position to watch. If you asked me when camp opened if Leatherwood would make the roster, I would have had him as a long shot. Maybe that is a spot for Kramer, at least temporarily. Ten linemen would be a little unusual — teams typically carry nine — but might be necessary.
8. Projecting the Bears defense after cuts to the 53-man roster.
Defensive line (9): Tackles — Justin Jones, Andrew Billings, Gervon Dexter, Zachh Pickens. Ends — Yannick Ngakoue, DeMarcus Walker, Rasheem Green, Terrell Lewis, Dominique Robinson.
The Bears kept eight linemen at the start of last season, and it wouldn’t stun me if they went with that number again. But I went with nine because I think trimming to eight would require a difficult decision involving Robinson, and I believe the team wants to continue to develop him.
Matt Eberflus is all about having depth on the defensive line, and he and coordinator Alan Williams really want to keep a fresh rotation of players up front. For the team to take a major step forward in the standings, the defensive line is the first position I would key on after quarterback Justin Fields. The inability to stop the run or rush the passer was crippling last season. That’s a recipe for disaster nearly every Sunday and the kind of double-whammy that can lead to a 14-loss season.
Billings is an experienced nose tackle who should help on base run downs, but beyond him, there is going to be a lot of pressure (and opportunities) for Dexter and Pickens, who was pretty productive in the preseason.
On the edge, Ngakoue is expected to lead the way, and I included Lewis as a keeper because of his ability to bend the edge. After Ngakoue, he’s the most natural edge rusher of the group, and the Bears should hope they’ve stumbled onto something here with the 2020 third-round pick of the Los Angeles Rams. Green is a depth player who has a history with a little bit of production and was consistently getting first-team reps with Walker sidelined for much of training camp. Trevis Gipson was more productive in preseason than Green, but don’t ignore how coaches used the players throughout training camp. The fact Gipson was playing late into the game makes me believe he’s probably going to be moving on. With a base salary of more than $2.7 million, it’s probably a long shot that another team would want to trade for him. Teams are expecting Gipson to become available, and they’ve been sniffing around on him a bit. He’s a maximum effort player, and a change of scenery might be the best thing that can happen.
In a perfect world, a younger player such as Lewis or Robinson eventually would take reps from Green. You never can discount the possibility the Bears will eye a lineman who becomes available, especially for a unit that is still a year or two from being where the team needs it to be.
Linebacker (6): Tremaine Edmunds, T.J. Edwards, Jack Sanborn, Noah Sewell, Dylan Cole, Mykal Walker
Talk about turnover. Sanborn is the only linebacker remaining from last season’s team. Considering the struggles of the 2022 defense, maybe that’s a good thing. The primary questions are when will Cole be cleared to return and how long will Sewll be out with his groin injury? Cole has been out quite awhile and looked like a sure thing for the roster as he was signed to be a core special teams contributor along with running back Travis Homer.
The Bears have made a flurry of moves to bring linebackers in, which appears to have been with the goal of finding the best candidate for a sixth position — if the team indeed keeps more than five, which seems more likely now with Sewell’s status up in the air. Walker made more than 100 tackles as a starter for the Atlanta Falcons last season. Davion Taylor has experience with the Philadelphia Eagles. Walker and Taylor each made five tackles in Week 2 of preseason, but I keep coming back to Micah Baskerville, who made some splash plays in practice.
Part of my reasoning, at least before the game, was if the Bears were looking for a player to plug in as a starter if needed, they might lean toward Walker based on his experience. Sewell looked like that guy — the next man up — before he was injured. So does this development favor Walker? Taylor has the speed to contribute on special teams. I was going to go with Baskerville as the sixth option but switched up to Walker based on Sewell’s injury.
Cornerback (6): Jaylon Johnson, Kyler Gordon, Tyrique Stevenson, Terell Smith, Josh Blackwell, Jaylon Jones
The first four are set, and Blackwell, who looks like the backup nickel behind Gordon, would seem to be a lock provided his recent injury isn’t overly concerning. Jones has really shown up on special teams, which could be his ticket to a roster spot. He got experience last year in the role and made three tackles in the preseason opener against the Titans.
A couple of younger players have had their moments. Bralen Trahan has excellent ball skills, which was the book on him coming out of Louisiana, but a 4.58 time in the 40-yard dash is a little concerning. Macon Clark has had a physical presence, and the Bears started working him some at safety. Finally, Michael Ojemudia, who has 18 games of experience with the Denver Broncos, has gotten a lot of work. Clark, a Tulane product, looks like the wild card at this position.
Safety (3): Eddie Jackson, Jaquan Brisker, Elijah Hicks
Four seems like the right number, but I had to create an extra spot for the team to keep Bagent. I chose safety with the thinking being the team can then bring A.J. Thomas back after potentially placing one of the injured players on IR. I believe the Bears will be back to four safeties before they line up against the Packers. Coaches seem adamant Jackson and Brisker will be ready to go when the season begins. Hicks has made some nice advancements as a capable backup for either starter, and I would give an edge to Thomas over seventh-round pick Kendall Williamson because he looked like he was around the ball a fair amount in practice. Thomas got into five games last season, and the Bears can probably re-sign Williamson to the practice squad. Thomas also got work on defense before Williamson in a lot of situations, which could be telling.
9. Projecting the Bears’ special teams after cuts to the 53-man roster.
Special teams (3): K Cairo Santos, P Trenton Gill, LS Patrick Scales
No decisions to be made here. The Bears had a camp leg to take some of the workload off Santos’ plate through the offseason and training camp, but he has looked sharp. Gill had a fine rookie season and will look to improve on his net average of 40.3 yards from a year ago. Scales remains reliable and durable.
10. It seemed as if someone other than offensive coordinator Luke Getsy was calling plays during the second half Saturday.
Getsy’s call sheet was in his back pocket for much of the second half, and it didn’t look like he was using his headset to call plays in to the quarterback.
Either quarterbacks coach Andrew Janocko or possibly offensive line coach Chris Morgan appeared to be radioing in plays. It also appeared as if Janocko was the one calling plays during the second half of the preseason opener against the Titans.
It’s good experience for others on staff, and maybe it allows Getsy to brainstorm and see the game from a different angle. This is the kind of move that can really energize position coaches, too, as they have expanded responsibilities even if it is only preseason.
10a. Fox’s No. 1 team of Kevin Burkhardt, Greg Olsen, Erin Andrews and Tom Rinaldi will call the Bears-Packers game in Week 1 at Soldier Field.
10b. Stay tuned for news this week as the Bears cut to a 53-man roster.
10c. Welcome to the regular season.
