Bears Make Move to Free Up One Roster Spot

The Bears waived tight end Jake Tonges in order to get either Matthew Adams or Byron Pringle a roster spot.

USA Today

 The Bears have some game day personnel issues to address.

One seems to be solved after they cleared a roster spot by waiving undrafted rookie tight end Jake Tonges.

They are getting ready for the return of linebacker Matthew Adams, if not wide receiver Byron Pringle.

Both players have been on injured reserve and had their 21-day windows opened for a possible return. So they needed an open roster spot.

Another problem is how they get third-round rookie Velus Jones active and contributing. They had him inactive last week.

The presence of Chase Claypool now makes it even more unlikely they could have their third-round draft pick active Sunday.  

"Well I think it's just, we're trying to figure out just not Velus or just Chase, we're trying to figure a lot of things out," offensive coordinator Luke Getsy said. "You (media) guys have seen a lot of different combinations from a lot of different positions, so I think that's just part of it.

"We're trying to figure out what each guy can do and then on top of it, you have to play on special teams, that part of it goes into it as well. So you can't have six or seven receivers up, which we (offensive coaches) beg for each week, so we'll see if we can get that done this week."

Because they're having difficulty getting Jones active on game day, it seems unlikely  they could even consider activating Pringle for this week.

New Bears Injuries

Two new names showed up on the Bears injury report on Thursday, although both were able to practice.

Guard Teven Jenkins was limited due to a hip injury and cornerback Jaylon Johnson was limited due to an oblique injury.

Two players who didn't practice on Wednesday were able to go on a limited basis on Thursday, and it bodes well for their defense on Sunday.  Cornerback Kindle Vildor returned from an ankle injury suffered Sunday and defensive end Al-Quadin Muhammad was back on a limited basis after a knee injury sidelined him Wednesday.

Defensive backs Josh Blackwell (knee) and Dane Cruikshank (illness) both returned Thursday for a full practice.

The Lions' injury report changes included center Frank Ragnow returning for a full practice Thursday after being limited Wednesday with a back injury and cornerback Chase Lucas going through a limited practice after missing Wednesday with an ankle injury.

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