Tag: ryan nall

Breaking down these Bears roster moves ahead of game vs. Raiders

The Bears made four roster moves on Saturday. From David Montgomery to Akiem Hicks, we’re breaking it down.

The Chicago Bears announced four roster moves ahead of Sunday’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders, moves that have implications for Week 5 and/or beyond.

The Bears placed running back David Montgomery on injured reserve, activated linebacker Danny Trevathan off IR, downgraded defensive tackle Akiem Hicks to out and promoted running back Ryan Nall from the practice squad to the active roster.

Here’s a breakdown of the Bears’ roster moves from Saturday:

Bears place RB David Montgomery on IR, activate LB Danny Trevathan

The Bears placed David Montgomery on IR, where his window to return is 3-5 weeks. Akiem Hicks has also been downgraded to out for Week 5.

The Chicago Bears have officially placed running back David Montgomery on injured reserve, the team announced Saturday.

Montgomery suffered a knee sprain in last Sunday’s win over the Detroit Lions, where he’s expected to be sidelined 3-5 weeks, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

Linebacker Danny Trevathan has been activated off IR following a four-week hiatus with a knee injury. Alec Ogletree has been filling in for Trevathan opposite Roquan Smith, and he did a solid job of it. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Ogletree continue to start opposite Smith given his performance in the first four weeks.

Defensive tackle Akiem Hicks has been downgraded to out for Sunday’s game against the Raiders. Hicks suffered a groin injury on his first play in last Sunday’s win against Detroit.

The Bears elevated running back Ryan Nall to the 53-man roster from the practice squad, where he’ll serve as depth for running backs Damien Williams and Khalil Herbert.

Bears protect four practice squad players for Week 5

The Bears have protected four practice squad players ahead of Sunday’s game against the Raiders, including RBs Ryan Nall and Artavis Pierce.

The practice squad has become even more important for NFL teams with injuries and COVID-19 designations. Teams are allowed to designate up to four practice-squad players every week that are protected from being signed away from other teams.

The Chicago Bears have protected four players on their practice squad this week ahead of Sunday’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders — running backs Ryan Nall and Artavis Pierce, as well as defensive lineman Margus Hunt and kicker Brian Johnson.

With David Montgomery sidelined 4-5 weeks with a knee sprain, the Bears need all the help they can get at running back. Damien Williams and Khalil Herbert will be the main guys filling in for Montgomery, but it’s not a surprise to see Nall and Pierce, who re-signed to the practice squad Tuesday, protected. One of them figures to be promoted to the active roster in place of Montgomery, who will likely be placed on short-term injured reserve.

Hunt’s protection could be an indication that Akiem Hicks’ groin injury, which he sustained on the first play of last week’s win against the Lions, might be a concern this week. We’ll see how things unveil during practice this week.

Protecting Johnson is a smart move should anything happen to Cairo Santos, who now owns the longest active streak of consecutive made field goals with 32.

[listicle id=483263]

Bears re-signing RB Artavis Pierce to practice squad

With David Montgomery sidelined for 4-5 weeks with a knee sprain, the Bears are re-signing Artavis Pierce to the practice squad.

With running back David Montgomery sidelined for 4-5 weeks with a knee sprain, the Chicago Bears have been making some roster moves to accommodate his loss.

The Bears are bringing back running back Artavis Pierce to the practice squad, according to The Athletic‘s Kevin Fishbain. Pierce was a free agent and figures to rejoin given the opportunity for playing time.

That gives the Bears two running backs on the practice squad in Pierce and Ryan Nall, one of whom figures to be elevated to the active roster assuming Montgomery is placed on short-term injured reserve at some point within the next couple of days.

With Montgomery sidelined, it’ll be Damien Williams and rookie Khalil Herbert getting the reps at running back, and they’re certainly solid depth. It’s not ideal to lose Montgomery, the team’s best offensive player, but it helps to have depth.

Chicago also traded for wide receiver Jakeem Grant, sending a 2023 sixth-round pick to the Dolphins in exchange. Grant figures to assume a big role on special teams, especially given Herbert’s role figures to serve mostly offense as Williams’ backup with Montgomery sidelined.

10 Bears players to watch during Saturday’s preseason finale vs. Titans

Heading into the final week of preseason, there are some roster spots still up for grabs. Here are some Bears we’ll be watching vs. Titans.

The preseason comes to a close this weekend for the Chicago Bears as they travel south to take on the Tennessee Titans. As of now, the game is still scheduled to take place, as the Titans are currently experiencing a COVID-19 outbreak. At least nine individuals have tested positive for the virus, including head coach Mike Vrabel.

Assuming the game proceeds as planned, the Bears have quite a few players worth watching as they prepare for their final big audition to make the 53-man roster. Here are 10 players I’m keeping my eye on this Saturday night.

9 takeaways from the Bears’ 19th training camp practice

From a big day from Bears starting safeties to the battle at left tackle, here’s what we learned from Tuesday’s practice.

Following a light practice, the Chicago Bears returned to the practice field on Tuesday, where they had a padded practice.

It was another great day for the defense, which brought out the takeaway bin on several occasions. They made it a rough day for quarterbacks Andy Dalton and Justin Fields.

Following Tuesday’s practice, here’s a look at what we learned from Day 19 of training camp:

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.

Bears re-sign several exclusive rights free agents

The Bears took care of some of their own re-signing several exclusive rights free agents, including Alex Bars, Josh Woods and J.P. Holtz.

The Chicago Bears announced Wednesday that they’ve re-signed five exclusive rights free agents, including offensive lineman Alex Bars, inside linebacker Josh Woods, outside linebacker James Vaughters, running back Ryan Nall, and tight end J.P. Holtz.

Exclusive rights free agents are players with fewer than three accrued NFL seasons and were only permitted to negotiate and sign with their own team.

Bars has become a promising prospect on the Bears offensive line last season, where he started the final eight games — at center, left guard and mostly right guard — as well as Chicago’s wild-card game against the Saints at right guard. He’s a part of a promising interior of the offensive line heading into 2021, alongside fellow undrafted Notre Dame teammate Sam Mustipher.

Woods, a former undrafted free agent out of Maryland, played in 15 games last season — as a reserve — and tallied 14 total tackles on defense and seven stops on special teams. He filled in at linebacker when starter Roquan Smith suffered an elbow injury in the regular-season finale.

Vaughters, Nall and Holtz have also become key reserves for the Bears, as well as on special teams.

[listicle id=468559]

The Bears are re-signing running back Ryan Nall

The Bears are re-signing RB Ryan Nall, who was set to become a restricted free agent at the start of the new league year.

The Chicago Bears have 30 players set to become free agents next month, and general manager Ryan Pace has already started the process of re-signing some of those in-house names.

Chicago is re-signing running back Ryan Nall, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. Nall was set to become a restricted free agent at the start of the new league year.

In his second year with the Bears, Nall recorded three rushes for zero yards and eight receptions for 67 yards and a touchdown.

While Nall was the team’s third running back, he was used sparingly with David Montgomery and Cordarrelle Patterson getting a bulk of the carries. And when Nall did see the field, it was either in blocking situations or out of the backfield as a receiver.

Nall rejoins a running backs room that features David Montgomery, Tarik Cohen, and Artavis Pierce with new running backs coach Michael Pitre.

[listicle id=468101]