Cal Sports Report

Chicago Bears Waive LB Kuony Deng

Former Cal standout was let go when the Bears added another linebacker

Jake Curtis

Former Cal linebacker Kuony Deng's bid to make the Chicago Bears' roster ended early in the preseason as he was waived by the Bears on Monday.

The Bears let Deng go to make room for linebacker Mykal Walker, who was acquired off waivers after being waived by the Atlanta Falcons.

Deng played in this past weekend's preseason game but did not record any statistics.

Deng might be picked up by another team looking for linebacker depth, but if no one signs him, this would be the second straight year that Deng has been unable to latch on to an NFL roster.

Deng might sign with a practice squad on some NFL team.

Deng signed with the Bears late in the 2022 season after spending much of the year with the Falcons on Atlanta's practice squad.

Deng was not taken in the 2022 NFL draft after spending parts of three seasons at Cal.  His final season with the Golden Bears was 2021, when he was limited to a little more than one game after suffering a season-ending injury in the second game.

When he arrived at Cal from Independence Junior College he looked like a pro prospect.  Athletic, smart and tall, the 6-foot-5 Deng seemed to have all the ingredients to play at the next level.  He began as an inside linebacker at Cal before being moved to the edge, but the injury prevented him from showing what he could as a fulltime outside linebacker.

Cover photo of Kuony Deng by Kelley L Cox, USA TODAY Sports

Follow Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jakecurtis53

Find Cal Sports Report on Facebook by going to https://www.facebook.com/si.calsportsreport

Published
Jake Curtis
JAKE CURTIS

Jake Curtis worked in the San Francisco Chronicle sports department for 27 years, covering virtually every sport, including numerous Final Fours, several college football national championship games, an NBA Finals, world championship boxing matches and a World Cup. He was a Cal beat writer for many of those years, and won awards for his feature stories.

Home/Football