Report: Bears Are Fielding Calls For Teven Jenkins
August 1, 2022, 10:23 PM CDT
Chicago Bears news! Yeah, it's coming more often now that camp has started. Today's news is pretty big actually. Some context, Teven Jenkins has not been at Training Camp with an undisclosed "injury" as Matt Eberflus put it. He said Teven woke up with something one day and is currently day-to-day. Well, we may have found our reasoning for his being absent. And it may also be the reason why we signed Riley Reiff. It was reported a couple days ago that Teven was not getting along well with the coaching staff, especially with new O-Line Coach Chris Morgan. Today, Ian Rapoport tweeted that the Bears were shopping Teven Jenkins, and a trade could be coming soon if the issue is not resolved. This is big news, as Teven was our 2021 2nd round pick and had plenty of hype coming into the 2021 season. A back issue limited him to just 6 games last year, and apparently he has not caught on well with this new regime. You have to imagine the asking price isn't cheap, especially for the draft position he was selected in, and the fact that we gave up picks to trade up for him. We will see how this plays out, but for now, all we do is wait.
Teven Jenkins
Eberflus Says Bears Will Play Starters In Preseason
August 4, 2022, 8:10 PM CDT
In yesterday's Bears press conference, Head Coach Matt Eberflus said that the Bears starters will play a "good amount" of reps in next Saturday's preseason opener vs the Chiefs. This came after a question referencing how Mitch Trubisky didn't get any reps last year, and Flus said that all the starters will get reps. This is good as it prepares every player for the season, and we get our first look at this new Bears team under a new Head Coach.
There is still no sign of Teven Jenkins at practice. Matt Eberflus continues to insist that he is in the building and working with the trainers, and his absence is 100% injury related. Although some reporters continue to insist that the Bears are shopping Tev, even he denied it and said not to trust everything you read on the internet. The only ones that know for sure at this point is the Front Office, so we will see how this situation develops.
Matt Eberflus during an earlier offseason practice
Bears WR Harry Suffers High Ankle Sprain, To Miss 6-8 Weeks
August 8, 2022, 4:01 PM CDT
The other day at Bears practice, newly acquired WR N'Keal Harry went down with an ankle injury. We did not know for certain what it was at the time, however, many reports suggested it was significant. It was reported that he suffered a high ankle sprain, meaning he will miss 6-8 weeks, which puts him out until sometime between weeks 2-4. This is devastating news, as this was a good chance for Harry to break out and show what he's capable of. With Byron Pringle out for a bit as well, the Bears may need to look towards other options at Wide Receiver to win spots. There are some free agents available, and other low risk, high reward trade guys we could look to pick up. Guys like Jalen Reagor or Denzel Mims come to mind. Hopefully we can effectively fill the void left by Harry's absence, and maybe he can come back even stronger during the regular season. Expect guys like Dazz Newsome and Chris Finke to step up as well in the coming weeks.
N'Keal Harry during Training Camp
Roquan Smith Has Requested A Trade (Why He Will Stay)
August 9, 2022, 10:33 AM CDT
With Roquan being on PUP, he really hasn't been able to speak about his contract situation.
This morning, he dropped a bombshell on us.
Ian Rapaport released a statement from Roquan, which can essentially be summarized to Roquan not agreeing with the negotiation strategies and contract offers he's been handed by the front office. And so, he has requested a trade out of Chicago. He will probably get a big haul, as he is a Top 5 LB in the NFL. He will easily get us good pieces, whether that be high draft picks or young talent.
But I think he will stay and sign a new deal.
It's important to remember that a player who requests a trade due to contract issues might not get traded, especially if it's a good player. Just this offseason, the same thing went down with Deebo Samuel. And he recently accepted a new deal. This could all be a negotiation tactic by Roquan. Now, he could be traded if the front office wants to approach it that way. But with how things like this have gone down in the past, I think he will eventually accept a new deal.
Will Roquan Smith Remain A Bear?
Ryan Poles Says That His Intention Is To Extend Roquan Smith
August 9, 2022, 3:10 PM CDT
Everyone was anticipating what the Bears would have to say in regards to the Roquan Smith situation. Would Poles just release a statement? Or would we see him address the media, something we haven't seen the past few seasons. He chose the latter and delivered a short, three minute presser to the media following today's Bears Fan Fest at Soldier Field. In short, he essentially said that he thought the offer made to Roquan was a respectful one and according to Poles, it included record setting pieces. Roquan, being on PUP, did not speak to the media despite being at Fan Fest. Poles said that his full intention is to complete a deal with Roquan. Roquan not having an agent has complicated some things as Poles said. However, we will see how this situation plays out in the coming weeks.
Can Ryan Poles work out a deal with Roquan Smith?
Bears Make Moves To Begin Roster Cut Period
August 16, 2022, 11:06 PM CDT
Today, the Bears were required to trim their 90-Man Roster down to 85. To do this, they made several roster moves. It began on Monday, when the team waived DL Carson Taylor. Taylor did well in minicamp and OTAs, and it was thought he could be a guy who could win a roster spot in preseason. However, his training camp has been very quiet and he barely saw the field if at all during the Chiefs game. This morning, the team waived TE Rysen John and LB Noah Dawkins, but cancelled those moves out by signing OL Corey Dublin, and bringing rising fan favorite DB Jon Alexander back (waived earlier in offseason). These moves reset the roster back at 89. In Matt Eberflus' press conference, he said that Doug Kramer has a lower leg injury with no timetable to return. Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune reported that the team was concerned it was a Lisfranc injury, which would almost certainly be season ending. Kramer was placed on IR today as one of the 4 moves. The three others were waived/injured. DB Michael Joseph was seen limping off the field against the Chiefs on a play, and he is now gone. DB Jayson Stanley left the game with an injury, and he was waived. And finally, LB Javin White was waived after it was reported he suffered a Torn ACL vs KC. The Bears are now at 85, with the next cuts being next Tuesday the 23rd. The team will have a few days of extra evaluation following Thursday's game. The final cuts are on August 30th, where teams will trim from 80 to 53 men. And then, the regular season hype begins.
Bears Rookie C Doug Kramer is Likely Out For The Season
Roquan Smith, Without A Contract, Returns To Practice
August 20, 2022, 9:32 PM CDT
Today, Roquan Smith returned to Bears practice for the first time this training camp. It was interesting to hear what he had to say about not getting a deal done. Let me summarize. He said that talks have ended, there will be no deal before the regular season, and he thought talks were distasteful. He also wouldn't rule out a future extension, and hinted that the franchise tag is a good number this year for him (around $17.5 mil). One early speculation from me is that Roquan wants more guaranteed money than the Bears are willing to give him, likely causing the holdup in contract talks. Roquan also said that he is now solely focused on this upcoming season and being the best teammate he can be.
Oh yeah, about Saint Omni. Roquan said he has a team of advisors, and Saint is someone he trusts. He did not comment (nor was he asked) about Saint contacting other teams to try and facilitate a trade. He also said he was denied his trade request, and the Bears will not trade him.
Roquan Smith has returned to practice
Bears Make Moves To Trim Roster To 80
August 23, 2022, 10:59 AM CDT
Today was the day to trim rosters from 85 to 80, the moves had to be completed by 3 PM. The Bears have practice today, and made those moves earlier in the morning. The first announced move was the waiving of Dazz Newsome. It wasn’t too much of a surprise. Newsome struggled to get playing time last year, appearing in just a few games. He caught a touchdown in Week 1 of the preseason, but had a few drops and a few muffed punts, ultimately resulting in him being waived. In addition to Newsome, OT Julién Davenport’s contract was terminated, and the Bears waived 3 more players. FB Jake Bargas, DL LaCale London, and DB BoPete Keyes were all waived to trim down the roster from 85 to 80.
Dazz Newsome was one of 5 cuts to trim the roster from 85 to 80
Bears 2022 Cut Day Tracker
August 30, 2022
This article will display the Bears that have been cut as part of roster cut downs. This will be periodically updated throughout the day:
90-Man to 85-Man Roster:
DL Carson Taylor
TE Rysen John
LB Noah Dawkins
C Doug Kramer (IR)
DB Michael Joseph
DB Jayson Stanley
LB Javin White
Note that the Bears signed Jon Alexander and Corey Dublin during this period
85-Man to 80-Man Roster:
WR David Moore (IR)
FB Jake Bargas (signed to take Moore’s roster spot, waived two days later)
WR Dazz Newsome
OL Julién Davenport
DL LaCale London
DB BoPete Keyes
80-Man to 53-Man Roster:
DB Jon Alexander
OL Jean Delance (NFI)
WR Kevin Shaa
OL Corey Dublin
DE Mario Edwards Jr
DT Trevon Coley
RB De’Montre Tuggle
QB Nathan Peterman
DL Sam Kamara
OL Michael Schofield
OL Lachavious Simmons
WR Chris Finke
LB DeMarquis Gates
DB Greg Stroman
WR Nsimba Webster
WR Isaiah Coulter
DB Davontae Harris
TE Chase Allen
CB Thomas Graham Jr
TE James O'Shaughnessy (NFI)
CB Tavon Young (IR)
OL Dieter Eiselen
DE Charles Snowden
DT Micah Dew-Treadway
S AJ Thomas
RB Darrynton Evans
OT Shon Coleman
Mario Edwards Jr has been released
Bears Finalize Initial 53-Man Roster
August 30, 2022, 10:45 PM CDT
Today was Roster Cut day. By 3 PM Central, the Bears (and every NFL team) needed to have their roster cuts finalized by that time. I posted a tracker of Bears cuts today, updating it periodically throughout the day. That can be found below this article. This article is now meant to show who has made the initial 53-Man roster for the Chicago Bears. Note that due to waivers, expect this to change a lot tomorrow. But for now, let's meet the Bears:
QB (2):
Justin Fields, Trevor Siemian
It's not a surprise the Bears went with just two QBs. With other spots open, there was no need to keep a third QB. Plus we don't have a third stringer locked up to a big contract like we did last year. Nathan Peterman will likely head to the Practice Squad, so a third QB with knowledge of the system will remain in the building.
WR (7):
N'Keal Harry, Velus Jones Jr, Darnell Mooney, Dante Pettis, Byron Pringle, Tajae Sharpe, Equanimeous St. Brown
Once again, I see no surprises here. I expect Harry to head to IR tomorrow, which would open up a spot for a possible waiver claim. Outside of that, these guys played well enough to earn a spot. Isaiah Coutler could be a name to watch for on the Practice Squad though.
RB (3), FB (2):
David Montgomery, Khalil Herbert, Trestan Ebner, Khari Blasingame, Jake Tonges
This is very interesting. I thought it would be Monty, Herbert, Ebner, Evans, and Blasingame. But Poles decided to go all in on run blocking by keeping Tonges along. We will see what happens with Evans, I'm a little surprised he was let go. Tonges will provide Tight End value should we not add one off waivers.
TE (2):
Cole Kmet, Ryan Griffin
Once again, I was surprised to see James O'Shaughnessy go. But the Bears must feel confident in Jake Tonges ability to play both FB and TE. Chase Allen is a name that will likely land on the Practice Squad that I think will come up at some point.
OL (9):
Larry Borom, Ja'Tyre Carter, Teven Jenkins, Braxton Jones, Sam Mustipher, Lucas Patrick, Riley Reiff, Zachary Thomas, Cody Whitehair
It was a surprise to see the team let Michael Schofield go, but now it all but solidifies that Teven Jenkins will be the starting RG. Schofield is one to watch for that may re-sign after Harry heads to IR. Another name is Lachavious Simmons, who did well at LG this preseason. He will most likely head to the Practice Squad.
LB (6):
Matt Adams, Caleb Johnson, Nicholas Morrow, Jack Sanborn, Roquan Smith, Joe Thomas
Lake Zurich native Jack Sanborn has made the roster. It was pretty clear after the first game that he was going to make it. He should've been drafted, but fell all the way to us as a UDFA. He could be a big steal. Also, last years feel-good story in Caleb Johnson returns once again. He provided good value on Special Teams, expect him to contribute in the same way this year. DeMarquis Gates, the USFL Product we signed earlier in the offseason, will likely head to the PS.
DB (11):
Jaquan Brisker, Dane Cruikshank, Kyler Gordon, Elijah Hicks, Deandre Houston-Carson, Eddie Jackson, Lamar Jackson, Jaylon Johnson, Jaylon Jones, Duke Shelley, Kindle Vildor
A lot of DBs remain on the roster. One notable waived player is Thomas Graham, who was injured throughout camp and did not play in the preseason. Should he hopefully pass waivers, he will land on the PS. He has a ton of upside, so I expect him to be back up at some point. UDFA Jaylon Jones lands a roster spot as well.
DL (8):
Angelo Blackson, Trevis Gipson, Justin Jones, Al-Quadin Muhammad, Mike Pennel Jr, Robert Quinn, Dominique Robinson, Khyiris Tonga
The headlining cut in this group was Mario Edwards Jr, a player with 2 years left on his deal. Another surprise was seeing Trevon Coley getting cut after a 3 sack preseason. The Bears likely want him on the practice squad, however, he should draw waiver interest thanks to his good performances in the past few weeks. DT Micah Dew-Treadway and DE Charles Snowden will likely head to the PS.
ST (3):
Cairo Santos, Trenton Gill, Patrick Scales
This was set in stone long before Training Camp even. This should be a solid group.
So there you have it. The full 53-Man roster. All of the draft picks (except Doug Kramer, who is on IR) made the team. 3 UDFA's made the team (Tonges, Sanborn, Jones). Expect some more youth to be put into our system soon. Waivers begin as well. The Bears are 7th on the waiver order. So some of these players may not stay. It's the harsh reality of the game unfortunately. And thank you to those whose Bear careers have come to a close.
Caleb Johnson has made the 53-Man roster for the second straight year
Bears Add 6 Via Waivers
August 31, 2022, 12:01 PM CDT
Have a day Ryan Poles. As the news of the waiver moves started to flow in, it was reported that the Bears made 6 waiver claims (yes, SIX!). This was the most out of any team in the league. The most notable of which is OL Alex Leatherwood, the Raiders first round pick in of 2021. He was misused by the old Raiders regime, and will get a new chance to succeed in Chicago. We will have him for the next 3 years, with the fifth-year option included as well. Outside of Leatherwood, the Bears claimed 5 others. DB Josh Blackwell, DE Jonathan Kingsley, NT Armon Watts, LB Sterling Weatherford, and TE Trevon Wesco. Out of that group, I am most excited for Watts. He was a very solid Nose Tackle for Minnesota last year (better than Eddie Goldman), and was supposed to be a starter for them. 5 sacks is pretty solid for a NT, and he fits well into the new 4-3 scheme.
The Bears Practice Squad will also be announced today. None of the players they waived yesterday got claimed, so they have a lot of options for the squad. TE Chase Allen was confirmed by his father that he is on the PS, and DT Trevon Coley is expected to sign with the PS today as well.
The Bears have added 2021 First Round Pick Alex Leatherwood
Updated Bears 53-Man Roster, First Practice Squad
August 31, 2022, 11:04 PM CDT
Today the Bears made changes to their 53-Man roster, based on their waiver claims and new cuts. They also added 14 of a possible 16 players to their practice squad. Here is the updated roster, along with the 14 players on the practice squad:
53-Man Roster:
QB Justin Fields
QB Trevor Siemian
RB Trestan Ebner
RB David Montgomery
RB Khalil Herbert
FB Khari Blasingame
FB Jake Tonges
WR N'Keal Harry
WR Velus Jones Jr
WR Darnell Mooney
WR Dante Pettis
WR Byron Pringle
WR Equanimeous St Brown
TE Cole Kmet
TE Ryan Griffin
TE Trevon Wesco
OL Sam Mustipher
OL Cody Whitehair
OL Ja'Tyre Carter
OL Lucas Patrick
OT Larry Borom
OL Teven Jenkins
OT Braxton Jones
OL Alex Leatherwood
OT Riley Reiff
DE Angelo Blackson
DE Kingsley Jonathan
DE Al-Quadin Muhammad
DE Dominique Robinson
DT Justin Jones
DT Mike Pennel Jr
DT Armon Watts
LB Matt Adams
LB Trevis Gipson
LB Nicholas Morrow
LB Robert Quinn
LB Jack Sanborn
LB Roquan Smith
LB Sterling Weatherford
CB Josh Blackwell
CB Dane Cruikshank
CB Kyler Gordon
CB Lamar Jackson
CB Jaylon Johnson
CB Jaylon Jones
CB Kindle Vildor
S Jaquan Brisker
S Elijah Hicks
S DeAndre Houston-Carson
S Eddie Jackson
K Cairo Santos
P Trenton Gill
LS Patrick Scales
Practice Squad:
TE Chase Allen
DT Trevon Coley
WR Isaiah Coulter
DT Micah Dew-Treadway
C/G Dieter Eiselen
RB Darrynton Evans
LB DeMarquis Gates
CB Thomas Graham Jr
S Davontae Harris
DE Sam Kamara
QB Nathan Peterman
G Lachavious Simmons
S A.J. Thomas
WR Nsimba Webster
Waived/Released/Injured Today:
WR Tajae Sharpe (Season-Ending IR - Rib)
DT Khyiris Tonga
CB Duke Shelley
OL Zach Thomas
LB Joe Thomas
LB Caleb Johnson
New Bears DT Armon Watts could be a starter in our system
Bears President/CEO Ted Phillips To Retire At End of Season
September 2, 2022, 11:24 AM CDT
In a somewhat surprising move, Bears President and CEO Ted Phillips is retiring at the end of the 2022 season. Ted has been with the Bears for the last 40 years. He was in his current position for 23 years. During his time, he oversaw the massive renovation of Soldier Field, which was considered a failure in many ways as now the Bears look to move out of the stadium and into a new one in Arlington Heights. The team will now look towards hiring a new president. They are specifically looking for a guy with a football background. Now whether this is an outside hire or a promotion from within, they certainly would have a better football background than Phillips. You see, Ted never was a football guy, he was more skilled in the business side of things. This could be blamed for the cause of bad management and roster building decisions. So while yes, Ted was good on the business side, he wasn't good in terms of actual football management.
Bears President and CEO Ted Phillips is retiring after 40 years with the team
Lucas Patrick, Byron Pringle Return To Practice
September 5, 2022, 4:43 PM CDT
It is officially game week in Chicago. And the team received some good news following their recent break. WRs Byron Pringle and Velus Jones Jr have returned to practice, along with Center Lucas Patrick. This is big news for the team. Pringle was expected to be the #2 guy at wideout coming into the year, however, a training camp injury has sidelined him since August 6th. Velus played in one of the three preseason games, the second one vs Seattle. He was sidelined for the first and third games, but was back at practice today. Also returning to practice today was starting center Lucas Patrick. He has been sidelined since the end of July due to a right thumb injury that required surgery. Now that he is back, the Bears full starting o-line group is healthy. We can finally see this group in action, and see how well they will protect the passer.
Byron Pringle is back at practice for the first time since August 6th
Bears Release First Unofficial Depth Chart
September 6, 2022, 11:07 PM CDT
There was a lot of Bears news today. So much that I can't do it justice in one article. So, the Arlington Heights situation will be discussed tomorrow, as that is some pretty big news. Another piece of big news is that the Bears have released their first unofficial depth chart for the season. Rather than go through the entire depth chart, let's just highlight some possible surprises on there. The first being that Larry Borom, despite all the competition, was able to win the RT spot. Borom showed some flashes last season, but missed a few games due to injury and was pretty bad down the stretch. With the signing of Riley Reiff, surely Borom would be moved to a more swing tackle/backup role. But no, instead Borom went on to battle and beat out the veteran tackle to claim the starting RT spot. He will have to play well to keep it though, as Alex Leatherwood is surely going to be coming for that spot in the coming weeks. The same could be said for Braxton Jones at left, however, he'd played very well since being drafted and had surpassed Reiff by a good margin just a little bit into camp. Equanimeous St. Brown winning a starting spot is also kind of surprising, as with his contract many thought he would be a depth guy/possible cut. But no, he has claimed a starting spot and under Luke Getsy's system, which he already knows from his time in GB, he could have a solid season. Another big surprise is Al-Quadin Muhammed being listed as a starter, with Trevis Gipson as a backup. I thought that Gipson was surely the starter, but Muhammed takes that job. Now, will Trevis be left to rot on the bench? Of course not, he will still get a lot of gametime. But it is a little surprising to see him not as a first stringer. Every other position is as expected, I guess maybe Matt Adams at starting LB is a bit of a surprise, but other than that no huge gamechanging decisions.
Larry Borom has won a heavily contested battle for RT
Leatherwood To NFI With Mono, Schofield Resigned
September 14, 2022, 10:40 PM CDT
Alex Leatherwood's Bears debut is going to have to wait until at least Week 6.
The 2021 Raiders First Round Pick was placed on the Non-Football/Illness list, with what is mononucleosis according to Ian Rapoport. Being placed on NFI means he automatically has to miss 4 weeks at the minimum. This comes after he was inactive for the opener against San Francisco. Hopefully he can get well quickly. He still has a lot of potential, as he was misused in Vegas and his athleticism is still there. He could be a key addition in the back end of the year, and hopefully he can develop well and turn into a solid O-Lineman for the next few years.
To replace him on the 53-Man roster, we resigned OG Michael Schofield. Schofield was signed at the start of camp, and many expected him to be the starting RG. However, with the unexpected reemergence of Teven Jenkins, combined with poor preseason play, Schofield was waived as part of 53-Man roster cuts. But now with an open spot, we decided to bring him back as he is a solid veteran presence to add to the line in the absence of Leatherwood.
A case of mono will delay the debut of Alex Leatherwood
Equanimeous St. Brown Turning Into Top Target For Fields
September 24, 2022, 9:22 AM CDT
Coming into this season, the Bears expected three guys to be their top targets for Justin Fields. Those guys are (or I guess now, where) Darnell Mooney, Cole Kmet, and Byron Pringle. So, what are these guys receiving numbers on the year? 3 catches for 26 yards and no touchdowns. Pringle carries that group with one catch for 22 yards in the opener against San Francisco. So who has been left as the top receiving target? After all, there hasn't just been 3 completed passes. No, instead the bulk of the receiving production has gone to Equanimeous St. Brown. Now, it makes sense that Equanimeous has caught on well in these first two games. After all, he is from Green Bay, where he worked with Getsy before signed here on a cheap one year contract. He was a 6th Round Pick in 2018, but the talent has been there. He was projected by some to be as high as a 2nd round pick back before his junior year at Notre Dame. He did have a dip in production that year, but continued to play well. The talent flashed in 2016, where he caught 58 passes for 961 yards and 9 touchdowns. While in Green Bay, he was kind of left out. He never got his shot, making just 37 catches for 543 yards and one touchdown. He showed potential in 2018 before being sidelined in 2019 due to an injury. Now, at least early on in the season, it appears Luke Getsy is trying to unlock that potential. In a year where the team needed to find a guy who could be their #2 receiver, St. Brown is taking an early charge towards securing a possible second contract with the Bears. Although it hasn't been much, just 3 catches for 57 yards and a touchdown, he is getting targets and getting open. Some of y'all would've seen a few plays of him getting open against Green Bay if you came from my Twitter thread that this was linked to. So he's creating chances to make plays. If he can continue this production up, we might not need to free agency to find a decent pass catcher. Equanimeous might already be a guy we can rely on for the future.
Equanimeous St. Brown during camp this year
Bears Sign Kicker Badgley With Santos Likely Out
October 1, 2022, 11:15 PM CDT
Cairo Santos was a full participant in practice on Wednesday. But on Thursday, he popped up on the injury report with "personal" issues. He missed both Thursday and Friday practices, and is listed as questionable for the game tomorrow. The Bears rushed to find a replacement, as they had none on the practice squad. Until now. On Friday, the Bears tried out 3 kickers, and today they signed former Chargers Kicker Michael Badgley to the practice squad. They then elevated him and RB Darrynton Evans to the active roster. DE Andre Anthony, a practice squad guy, was placed on IR. Badgley has been a decent kicker in his career. He has an 80.5% conversion rate, but a lot of those misses came beyond 50 yards. From inside the 40, he's missed just 1 kick in his career. He's missed 5 PATs out of 127 attempts. With rainy conditions predicted in East Rutherford tomorrow, it's likely he won't be kicking from beyond 50 yards. It's just one game (hopefully) that Santos is out, but maybe Badgley plays well enough to stay on the practice team in case Santos gets injured at any point this year.
Speaking of player injuries, Velus Jones Jr is back! The third round pick this year will make his NFL debut tomorrow, barring a drastic setback. This is big news, as Byron Pringle was placed on the IR after suffering a calf injury on Sunday. With N'Keal Harry still out, receiving depth is thin. Velus' return couldn't have come at a better time, and maybe he's the spark that Justin Fields needs to get his season back on track.
Michael Badgley with the Chargers
Cairo Returns, Whitehair To IR, Harry Designated
October 5, 2022, 3:00 PM CDT
The Bears have made a plethora of roster moves since the game on Sunday. Cairo Santos returned to practice on Monday after his personal issue was resolved. His replacement, Michael Badgley, went 4-4 on field goal tries against the Giants. He was released from the practice squad on Monday, and he has since signed with the Detroits Lions to their practice squad. In his place the Bears brought in DL Jalyn Holmes to take his spot on the practice squad. They also worked out TE Sammis Reyes, although he did not get signed.
Today, the Bears placed starting Left Guard Cody Whitehair on the Injured Reserve with a knee injury. Matt Eberflus when asked if he will return this season: “Oh yeah.” So it will likely be Lucas Patrick at left for the next few weeks, as Whitehair is eligible to return Week 9 against the Dolphins. WR N’Keal Harry was designated to return from IR, beginning the 3 week activation window. Matt Eberflus did not rule out a return against the Vikings on Sunday, it just depends on how he practices this week. We could really use him, so hopefully he does well enough to return against one of our biggest rivals.
Cody Whitehair will be out until at least Week 9
Bears Make Multiple Moves In Pass-Catching Game
October 18, 2022, 10:56 PM CDT
The Bears today made three moves to hopefully boost a pass-catching game that has struggled through six games this year. All three correspond to each other. The player leaving the Bears is WR Ihmir Smith-Marsette. ISM was claimed by the Bears from the Vikings during waiver claims, and many thought he could be a sneaky good addition considering how we saw him torch us with the Vikings last year. Things did not go well. After being relatively quiet through the first four games, ISM became the target of Bears fans hate after (literally) fumbling the game away versus his old team, the Vikings. Then, he was the target of criticism once again this week after dropping an easy catch in the hands on a fourth down just before the two minute warning in the fourth quarter. It was smart to take a chance on him, but also smart to cut him loose now. The player we brought in for him was already in house, WR Isaiah Coulter came up from the practice squad to take ISM's roster spot. Coulter had a good preseason this year, with a few people thinking he had an outside chance of making the roster. However, he wound up on the practice squad and will now join the team as we make our way to New England next year. He played in 2 games with us last year, with no catches and just one target. Hopefully he can do something to boost our quiet pass game. Finally, the Bears brought in Sammis Reyes, a Tight End to fill the practice squad spot created by signing Coulter to the 53. Reyes had a tryout a few weeks ago, and gets a spot on the practice team now with a spot open. He is an athletic weapon (6'7, 260 lbs, 4.6 40 yard dash), playing basketball until 2019, where he switched to football and finally signed with Washington in 2021. He played mainly on special teams before his season was ended by injuries. Hopefully, his athletic ability can help boost our pass game, and give Justin Fields another weapon to help out on offense.
WR Isaiah Coulter