Bears Add Slot Receiver and Effort Guy

Former Notre Dame slot receiver Chris Finke was with the 49ers and Chiefs and now has been awarded to the Bears after they put in a waiver claim on him.

The Bears got more potential help for quarterback Justin Fields in the form of a Notre Dame wide receiver who was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs when Chicago GM Ryan Poles was with that team.

The Bears put in a waiver claim on Chris Finke after he was waived Tuesday by the Chiefs and they were awarded the 5-foot-9, 184-pound slot receiver.

Finke, nicknamed the "Slippery Fox," was originally signed as an undrafted free agent in 2020 by San Francisco but was cut, brought back for the practice squad and then cut from the practice squad.

He was signed by Kansas City and had a training camp injury last year, went on injured reserve and was cut and brought back for the Chiefs practice squad.

Finke played in four seasons for the Fighting Irish and made 106 receptions for 1,251 yards with eight touchdowns. He started nine games for Notre Dame in 2019, his final season. He was known as an effort guy and was a walk-on at Notre Dame before being awarded a scholarship after his sophomore season.

A teammate of Bears tight end Cole Kmet's while with the Irish, Finke ran a 4.56-second 40-yard dash at the NFL combine.

The Bears drafted only one wide receiver over the weekend, Tennessee's Velus Jones. They had the chance to draft Justyn Ross of Clemson like every team did, because he went undrafted after a surgery and a report he had a potetially dangerous spinal condition. 

Ironically, the Chiefs signed Ross as an undrafted free agent anyway, and then they cut Finke after signing Ross.

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