Bears remove Jesper Horsted, Joel Iyiegbuniwe from reserve/COVID-19 list

The Bears officially have no players on the reserve/COVID-19 list!

The Chicago Bears are officially COVID-free!

Just three weeks ago, the Bears were ravaged by COVID-19, which left the team without their entire starting secondary and a slew of big contributors against the Vikings in Week 15.

At one point, there were 15 players and all three coordinators on COVID reserve.

Flash forward, and the Bears just removed tight end Jesper Horsted and linebacker Joel Iyiegbuniwe, their final two players, off the reserve/COVID-19 list and are now back to full strength.

While Horsted and Iyeigbuniwe haven’t been significant contributors, it gives them an opportunity to see some playing time in the season finale.

This move happens just as the Vikings, Chicago’s Week 18 opponent, added several players to COVID reserve on Monday.

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Bears add 6 players to reserve/COVID-19 list, including Allen Robinson and Eddie Jackson

The Bears added six more players to the reserve/COVID-19 list on Thursday, including Allen Robinson and Eddie Jackson.

NFL players across the league are landing on the reserve/COVID-19 list at an alarming rate and the Chicago Bears are no exception. On Thursday, the team announced six more players landed on the list.

Tight end Jesse James, linebacker Joel Iyiegbuniwe, wide receiver Allen Robinson, safety Eddie Jackson, running back Ryan Nall, and practice squad wide receiver Isaiah Coulter were all added to the list.

They join tackle Larry Borom, defensive end Mario Edwards, nose tackle Eddie Goldman, cornerback Artie Burns, offensive tackle Elijah Wilkinson, and practice squad linebacker Sam Kamara, bringing the player total to 12.

In addition to the players, offensive coordinator Bill Lazor, defensive coordinator Sean Desai, and special teams coordinator Chris Tabor were placed on the list Thursday as well.

The Bears are just one of many teams dealing with many players landing on the COVID-19 list this week, though the league did recently revamp their protocols. As ESPN’s Kevin Seifert points out, these changes allow players to potentially return to the team quicker if they meet certain requirements.

As part of their roster moves, the Bears also announced the signing of defensive lineman Auzoyah Alufohai to the roster. Alufohai spent time on the Bears practice squad earlier this year before joining the Green Bay Packers practice squad last month.

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Bears roster bubble: Which players helped their cause in the preseason finale?

Following the Bears’ Week 3 preseason win, here’s a look at which roster-bubble players impressed vs. Titans.

The Chicago Bears closed out the preseason with a 27-24 win over the Tennessee Titans, where there were plenty of players who stood out in positive ways.

With the final roster cuts set for Tuesday — where GM Ryan Pace will have to trim the roster from 80 to 53 — there were a handful of players who might’ve helped their chances in earning a spot on the 53-man roster — or the practice squad — with strong preseason outings against the Titans.

Following Chicago’s preseason finale win, here’s a look at which roster-bubble players helped their cause in Week 3.

10 takeaways from Bears’ 27-24 preseason win vs. Titans

From Justin Fields ready to be QB1 to Jesper Horsted making a case for the roster, here are our takeaways from Bears’ 27-24 win vs. Titans.

The Chicago Bears closed out the preseason with a 27-24 win over the Tennessee Titans, where Matt Nagy rested most of his starters looking ahead to Week 1.

Chicago’s preseason finale win featured some impressive performances by players on the roster bubble looking to impress as final roster cuts loom, and it also marked rookie quarterback Justin Fields’ first NFL preseason start, where he put a stamp on his preseason with a sensational touchdown throw.

There was plenty to digest from the victory, be it good or bad. Here are our takeaways from the Bears’ preseason finale win over the Titans:

Our bold predictions for the Chicago Bears defense in 2021

Our Bears Wire staff is sharing their bold prediction for the Bears defense heading into the 2021 season, which includes some surprises.


This is our weekly staff discussion, where Bears Wire writers share their opinions about a variety of topics involving the Bears. Subscribe to get the latest Bears news delivered to your mailbox every day.


There are going to be some big changes on defense for the Bears heading into the 2021 season, starting with the loss of cornerback Kyle Fuller and new defensive coordinator Sean Desai.

While Chicago’s defense has been impressive over the last couple of seasons, they haven’t been as dominate as they were back in 2018, which has set the bar high for this group. The hope is that changes with Desai, who knows these players and exactly how to utilize them to their strengths.

Our Bears Wire staff is sharing their bold prediction for the Bears defense heading into the 2021 season, which includes some bounce-back seasons by a couple of players and some surprises.

9 Bears players who need a great training camp

With starting jobs and roster spots up for grabs, there are a handful of Bears players who need to impress at training camp.

As the Chicago Bears head into training camp later this month, there’s going to be a ton of competition for both roster spots and starting jobs, which should bring out the best in these players.

With that said, there are some players who find themselves on the roster bubble ahead of camp, which means they’re going to need to make an impression during training camp. With several starting jobs and roster spots up for grabs, that leaves just training camp for players to prove their worth to general manager Ryan Pace and head coach Matt Nagy.

Let’s take a look at nine Bears players who need a great training camp.

7 Bears players on the roster bubble heading into training camp

Here’s a look at seven notable Bears who are on the roster bubble ahead of training camp.

When the Chicago Bears kickoff training camp later this month, they’ll bring a roster of 90 players with them. By the end of camp and preseason, that roster will be trimmed to just 53 players and a group of practice squad players.

There are several veterans who could find themselves out of a job before the start of the regular season given some new additions on the roster and some competitive position battles at wide receiver, cornerback and inside linebacker.

Here’s a look at seven notable Bears who are on the roster bubble ahead of training camp.

5 takeaways from Bears’ initial 53-man roster

The Bears trimmed their roster down to 53 on Saturday. There weren’t any big surprises, but here are our takeaways from the initial roster.

The oddest training camp and preseason in recent NFL history concluded this weekend as all 32 NFL teams trimmed their rosters down to the final 53. The Chicago Bears were one of the final teams to officially announce their final roster, as is tradition over the last few seasons.

While there were truly no shocking cuts or transactions, the movement we saw so far paints a pretty clear picture as to what the Bears saw over the last month. Here are my takeaways from the team’s final cuts.

1. No undrafted rookie free agents made the team

Joe Robbins/Getty Images

As I said, this was the preseason in a very long considering no fans were allowed in attendance for any Bears practices and there were no preseason games either. That meant none of the undrafted rookie free agents (UDFAs) the Bears signed after the draft could showcase their skills against opposing NFL players. It was clearly a problem because after final cuts, no rookie UDFA made the team.

Guys like running back Artavis Pierce, and outside linebacker Ledarius Mack, two of the most-hyped players coming into camp, are now left with very little NFL tape and a ton of uncertainty following the Labor Day Weekend. This likely isn’t an issue just for the Bears, as other teams likely had difficulty keeping those players on the roster with little to judge them on. Here’s hoping all seven UDFAs find work elsewhere.

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Bears 2020 training camp preview: Linebackers

The Chicago Bears linebacker corps figures to be a strength on defense, but are there depth concerns on the roster?

Chicago Bears history is rich with linebacker talent that has generally been the backbone of the defense. Dick Butkus, Mike Singletary and Brian Urlacher are just a few names who have left their mark on this franchise and on the NFL, as well.

And at first glance, the 2020 version of the linebacker corps looks strong on paper. The Bears added Robert Quinn in the offseason, officially ending a disappointing tenure in Leonard Floyd. Quinn, 30, was signed to a five-year, $70 million deal, and he’s coming off an impressive 11.5 sack year with the Cowboys.

Let’s take an in-depth review of the Bears linebacker room heading into training camp.

OLB Khalil Mack

David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

After an impressive debut season in Chicago, Khalil Mack was double, and sometimes even triple-teamed, to limit the damage. He tallied his lowest sack total (8.5) since his rookie year, and he felt Akiem Hicks’ absence the most. After recording 4.5 sacks through the first four weeks, he logged just four sacks the rest of the way.

Mack remains one of the premier pass rushers in the NFL, and Hicks’ return should boost his statistics in 2020. He can single-handedly wreak havoc on an opposing offense. Despite a down year, Mack started in all 16 games, tallying four pass deflections and five forced fumbles.

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5 reasons for pessimism as Bears prepare for training camp

Heading into training camp, there aren’t many that have confidence that the Bears will be a team that will be competitive in 2020.

Heading into training camp, there aren’t many that have confidence that the Chicago Bears will be a team that will be competitive in 2020. And that’s probably for the best, considering Chicago folded under the high expectations last season. And it’s hard to have confidence in a team coming off a 8-8 season with major questions on offense, particularly at the quarterback position.

There are plenty of reasons for concern heading into the 2020 season. Obviously there’s the quarterback situation with Mitchell Trubisky and Nick Foles, as well as concerns regarding the offensive line and depth at a few positions.

Here are five reasons for pessimism as the Bears prepare for training camp.

1. The QB situation

USA Today

Anytime you have a competition at quarterback it’s a good indication that you’re not in the best place. And there’s a big question mark involving the Bears’ quarterback situation heading into 2020. Following Mitchell Trubisky’s worst year as a pro, the Bears traded for former Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles to compete with him for the starting job.

But with the shortened offseason and at minimum a two-game preseason, the quarterback competition will essentially play out over the course of a month in training camp. Not exactly a large sample size for Matt Nagy to make the best decision. That should benefit Trubisky, who’s played with most of Chicago’s skill position players for two years and has even been working with some of the newcomers with offseason workouts in the Chicago area.

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