All-USFL Player Signs with Bears

Pro journeyman linebacker DeMarquis Gates added by Bears after they cut Ball State rookie.

The Bears made official the signing of linebacker DeMarquis Gates Saturday, an All-USFL player and former XFL player.

To make room on the roster for Gates, the Bears waived injured former Ball State linebacker Christian Albright.

Gates, who is 26, is the type of linebacker the Bears have been adding in their new scheme, lighter and faster. He is 6-foot-2, 221 pounds and made 163 tackles in four seasons at Ole' Miss. He had six sacks in a career that ended in 2017.

Since then he has been trying to make it to the NFL by playing in various pro leagues. He was with Houston in the XFL, making 32 tackles, two sacks and an interception in 2020.

In the USFL this past spring, Gates played for the Birmingham Stallions and made 68 tackles, an interception, 6 1/2 sacks and two forced fumbles.

He also was in The Spring League in 2020 and with the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the CFL that year. He played in five CFL games with five tackles and a forced fumble.

Gates was with Memphis in the Alliance of American Football in 2019 with 72 tackles, five forced fumbles and a sack.

At his 2018 pro day, Gates ran a 4.61-second 40 and had a 34 1/2-inch vertical leap and signed with Cleveland as an undrafted free agent but didn't make the team.

Albright was an undrafted Bears player who signed this spring after making 15 sacks and 257 total tackles at Ball State.

The linebacker corps is thin on experienced 4-3 performers with Roquan Smith still sitting out practices, but present at Halas Hall until he can get a contract extension done.

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