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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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
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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.
A sign of the COVID-19 times with no preseason: Zero undrafted rookie free agents are on the #Bears initial 53-man roster.
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.
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
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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.
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.
Given injuries to ILBs Danny Trevathan and Roquan Smith last season, ILB Joel Iyiegbuniwe could play for a big role for Chicago in 2020.
Bleacher Report examined some surprise starters that could emerge from every team this season. There are a few candidates on a Chicago Bears team that lost some key defensive reserve players that stepped up in the face of injury last season.
Given that both inside linebackers Danny Trevathan and Roquan Smith suffered injuries last season, it makes sense that inside linebacker Joel Iyiegbuniwe could play for a big role for Chicago in 2020, as explained by B/R.
While Trevathan and Smith return, the team’s third linebacker spot remains important since that duo has combined to start a full 16-game slate just twice in 10 total seasons. Plus, another linebacker could get extra opportunities in sub-packages.
The Bears didn’t sign or draft anyone to fill this role.
Instead, Joel Iyiegbuniwe and Josh Woods will have an opportunity to serve as depth and possibly more. Iyiegbuniwe should have the edge as a 2018 fourth-round pick—Woods went undrafted that year—and the fact that he played in 31 games over the last two seasons.
Iyiegbuniwe, a former fourth-round pick out of Western Kentucky, didn’t see much action last season, as he logged just three tackles in 15 games for the Bears. He’s appeared in 31 games over the course of two seasons with the Bears, where he served primarily on special teams.
But with the departures of Nick Kwiatkoski and Kevin Pierre-Louis in free agency, Iyiegbuniwe has an opportunity to seize that third inside linebacker spot and be the first man up should Trevathan or Smith be out of commission. Regardless, his workload on defense figures to be increased in 2020, at the very least as a reserve. It’s finally time to see what Iyiegbuniwe can provide on defense.
When you put each of Bears GM Ryan Pace’s first five draft classes next to one another, how do they stack up?
We’re down to just hours before the 2020 NFL Draft officially begins in Las Vegas, NV virtually, giving teams yet another opportunity to improve their roster as the offseason marches on.
For Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Pace, this year’s draft will be his sixth and like most GMs, he’s found his share of diamonds in the rough while missing badly on top prospects.
But when you put each of his first five draft classes next to one another, how do they stack up? Below is a ranking of Pace’s worst to best draft classes between 2015 and 2019.
5) 2019 draft class
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Key hits – None
Key misses – None
It seems a little unfair to rank the Bears most-recent draft class in last place, considering the players have only had one season to develop. But the truth is, none of the Bears five picks have shown they are true hits yet. They also relinquished their first and second-round picks when they traded for All-Pro outside linebacker Khalil Mack prior to the 2018 season.
Their first selection didn’t come until pick No. 73, trading up in the third round for running back David Montgomery. The former Cyclone was decent and definitely showed flashes throughout the season, but he wasn’t consistent enough and only averaged 3.7 yards per carry. He wasn’t bad by any means, but he wasn’t a standout. Most notably, he was the only rookie to play a significant amount of snaps.
Their next pick, wide receiver Riley Ridley, didn’t play a single down until Week 13 and failed to make an impact. Cornerback Duke Shelley, the Bears’ sixth-round pick, spent a large portion of the season inactive, and their pair of seventh-rounders in running back Kerrith Whyte Jr. and cornerback Stephen Denmark were released and spent the year on the practice squad, respectively.
It was a rough year for this rookie class, but the bright side for this group is Montgomery, Ridley, and Shelley will have more opportunities to prove themselves and take the next step in their careers in Year 2.
