Tag: Napoleon Maxwell

Bears waive six players ahead of Saturday’s roster deadline

Chicago released six players on Thursday morning to trim the roster to 74 ahead of the Sept. 5 53-man roster deadline.

With less than two weeks until the Chicago Bears open the regular season against the Detroit Lions, there are some roster cuts that need to be made. The Bears need to trim the roster from 80 to 53 players by Sept. 5, and they’ve already started making roster moves.

Chicago released six players on Thursday morning to trim the roster to 74. They waived running back Napoleon Maxwell, receivers Alex Wesley and Ahmad Wagner, offensive lineman Corey Levin, defensive lineman Lee Autry and linebacker Keandre Jones.

There’s a good chance some of these players could wind up on Chicago’s practice squad, which will have 16 available spots should they clear waivers. The Bears still need to cut 21 players by Saturday’s deadline.

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Bears sign RB Napoleon Maxwell, place CB Michael Joseph on IR

The Bears made some roster moves Monday morning, re-signing rookie RB Napoleon Maxwell and placing CB Michael Joseph on injured reserve.

The Chicago Bears made some roster moves Monday morning, re-signing undrafted rookie running back Napoleon Maxwell and placing cornerback Michael Joseph on injured reserve.

Maxwell originally signed with the Bears as an undrafted rookie free agent out of Florida International. But he was waived Aug. 2 as part of roster cut-downs. Now, Maxwell returns to Chicago as depth concerns continue to loom.

Starting running back David Montgomery suffered a groin injury in practice last Wednesday. He’s expected to miss 2-4 weeks with the injury, but there’s still a chance that he’ll be ready for the season opener against the Detroit Lions on Sept. 13. Although, the Bears certainly don’t want to rush him back.

The Bears haven’t made any moves in free agency with Montgomery’s uncertainty, which could indicate that they’re prepared to trudge on without him for the short time he’s expected to miss. While Tarik Cohen is a proven player, he’s more of a gadget player than a three-down back. The Bears do have former Oregon State teammates Ryan Nall and Artavis Pierce on the roster, and it’s possible they could see some time.

As for Joseph, Chicago’s bad luck with cornerback injuries continues. Following injuries to Tre Roberson and Artie Burns, that leaves rookie Jaylon Johnson and Kevin Toliver to battle for the starting right cornerback spot opposite two-time Pro Bowler Kyle Fuller.

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Bears activate RB Artavis Pierce from COVID-19 list, waive RB Napoleon Maxwell

The Chicago Bears finally got some good news on the COVID-19 front with rookie RB Artavis Pierce being activated from the reserve list.

The Chicago Bears finally got some good news on the COVID-19 front. After three players were placed on the list over the last week, including nose tackle John Jenkins, one of those players has been cleared for training camp.

The Bears have activated undrafted rookie running back Artavis Pierce from the COVID-19 reserve list. They waived fellow undrafted free agent running back Napoleon Maxwell to make space on the roster.

Pierce, an undrafted rookie free agent out of Oregon State, had 366 carries for 2,127 yards and 15 touchdowns and had 74 receptions for 578 yards and two touchdowns in 44 games with the Beavers.

With the Bears searching for running back David Montgomery’s backup, Pierce will be battling Ryan Nall for that third running back spot in training camp.

Heading into training camp, there is a new reserve/COVID-19 list status for players that have either tested positive for COVID-19 or has been quarantine having been exposed to someone infected with the virus.

Teams are not permitted to comment on a player’s medical status, which means we don’t know whether players on the list are just in quarantine or whether they’ve tested positive for COVID-19.

With Pierce being activated from the list, that leaves just Jenkins and tight end Eric Saubert on the reserve/COVID-19 list.

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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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Bears 2020 training camp preview: Running backs

We’re taking a look at Bears running backs, where the biggest question is who will backup lead back David Montgomery.

Chicago Bears training camp is less than three weeks away, which means it’s time to start looking ahead at the roster the team is bringing to Lake Forest.

Next up are the running backs, which you could argue is one of the team’s biggest weaknesses at this point. Outside of lead back David Montgomery, who’s entering his second season, and the versatile Tarik Cohen, there are a lot of unknowns.

Perhaps the most important is who will serve as Montgomery’s primary backup, as Cohen isn’t your traditional three-down back. The Bears have three unproven guys that are currently vying for that third running back spot in Ryan Nall, Artavis Pierce and Napoleon Maxwell.

Could they bring in a veteran to compete? Unknown at this point. But given the importance of securing a dependable backup to Montgomery, it shouldn’t be out of the question.

Let’s take a look at the running backs heading into training camp.

David Montgomery

Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

Montgomery is entering training camp as Chicago’s lead back, and he’s determined to take the next step following a decent rookie campaign. Heading into his second season in Matt Nagy’s offense, expectations are high for the Bears’ top draft pick a year ago.

Last season, behind a struggling offensive line and questionable play-calling, Montgomery had 889 rushing yards and six touchdowns. He also added 25 receptions for 185 yards and a score. Montgomery surpassed 1,000 all-purpose yards as a rookie. He ranked second among NFL rookie rushers in both yards (889) and touchdowns (6) last season, trailing only the Raiders’ Josh Jacobs.

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