Bear Digest

Finding False Assumptions Over Bears Depth Chart and Roster

Center, wide receiver, cornerback, backup QB and even long snapper are positions where it's not safe to assume anything about the Bears depth chart or roster.

Gene Chamberlain

Tyson Bagent scrambles for yardage in a win over Carolina last year. It's safet to assume he'll have a battle to keep backup QB.
Tyson Bagent scrambles for yardage in a win over Carolina last year. It's safet to assume he'll have a battle to keep backup QB. / Jamie Sabau-USA TODAY Sports
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When GM Ryan Poles completed the draft and free agency had long since cooled down, it became easy to make roster assumptions.

It's never safe to assume, and the Bears are rarely going to be too forthcoming with how they plan to use particular players.

In one of the few great immediate admissions you'll get from any GM, Poles acknowledged third-round pick Kiran Amegadjie is probably not going to play much this year. This means Braxton Jones is.

"Potentially, probably not Year 1, but again, I don't want to put a ceiling on Kiran either," Poles said of Amegadjie starting. "I think we’ll open that up and kind of see how it goes."

A backup tackle role appears likely, although it might not even be limited to this position.

"I see the progression as potentially getting himself into a swing tackle setup," Poles said of Amegadjie. "He can play guard. He played guard early in his career, too. So swing tackle, inside, outside, which is helpful.

"We've struggled with flexibility in the past, so he has that ability and then we'll see where he ascends to. If that means competing to start this year or next year, that's great, but if he ends up being just a really good offensive linemen you can't have enough."

While this one is cleared up, there are other false assumptions made about the roster just aching to be proven wrong.

Ryan Bates vs. Nate Davis

The signing of Coleman Shelton at center triggered immediate assumptions of a training camp battle between the former Rams starter and Bates, acquired by trade after he'd been coveted by the Bears since 2022 when they tried to sign him as a restricted free agent.

It might not turn into this kind of a battle. Instead, the battle could be Bates vs. Nate Davis at right guard.

Shelton has a few key factors working on his side to be the starting center. He has far more experience doing it than Bates.

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With only 203 snaps at center to Shelton's 1,771, Bates' experience there is entirely lacking. However, he has gone 843 reps at right guard and that's Davis' position.

Davis last year experienced personal issues and injuries. He was graded 57th out of 79 guards by Pro Football Focus and it was easily his worst grade by that site since his rookie year.

Bates could be a challenger for either position, but if Davis has a year anything like last year it would be far more likely he'd be the one trying to keep his job and not Shelton.

Shelton also has the experience of playing center in the Rams system his entire career, an attack Shane Waldron's offense is modeled after. He also has worked as center with Waldron on the Rams coaching staff in the past.

Tyson Bagent Backup QB

The Bears signed Brett Rypien and their experience factor in the quarterback room is miniscule considering starter Caleb Williams is a rookie. Neither Rypien nor Tyson Bagent have more than four starts in the NFL.

However, it might be safer to assume this is a backup QB battle or that Rypien actually is the backup trying to hold off Bagent than it would be to assume Bagent is the backup.

The experience Bagent does have in the NFL came in Luke Getsy's offense.

Rypien played in this same type of offense as the Bears are now running last year from May 4 until being waived Nov. 7 by the Rams. Then, after being cut, he actually was with the Seahawks and Waldron for two weeks on the practice squad until being plucked off it by the Jets.

Being in this offense from the start of OTAs until Thanksgiving is a huge advantage in a battle with a second-year QB who has shown he has arm strength issues and whose only experience came in an offense not being used now in Chicago.

It might actually be Bagent battling undrafted rookie Austin Reed from Western Kentucky for third QB.

Velus Jones Is as Good as Gone

A receiver corps is not made of the top three alone. The Bears have quite the dazzling top three with Rome Odunze, Keenan Allen and DJ Moore. Then it's Tyler Scott, Jones and Dante Pettis. They also have practice squad players Nsimba Webster and Collin Johnson and a few undrafted free agents.

Jones is the only one among those who is a dependable kick returner. While they could also turn to Khalil Herbert to return kicks, they seemed well past him for this two years ago. Jones was in the top three for average among kick returners the last two seasons.

Besides that, Jones has better speed than any wide receiver on their roster. He just doesn't use it as well as he needs to on offense.

Jones might not be able to field punts but assuming he'll be challenged just to keep his roster spot is taking it a bit too far unless they suddenly struck gold with one of the undrafted free agents.

Tyrique Stevenson cornerback starter

Sure, Stevenson made a strong push over his final six games last year and finished with four interceptions. But his performance still wasn't drastically better over the course of the full season than fellow rookie Terell Smith.

Smith had a passer rating against for 46 reps targeted of 93.9. That's a better passer rating against than All-Pro Jaylon Johnson had in any of his first three seasons. Smith allowed one touchdown and had six pass defenses for 377 plays total.

Stevenson had four interceptions, and by the second half of the season this saved him. He allowed nine touchdown passes according to Sportradar. So the four interceptions brought his passer rating against down to 93.7, just ahead of Smith's.

Either way, start them off this camp at a fairly close spot in the pecking order because nine TD passes allowed is a big number, even with a 4-0 edge in interceptions over Smith.

Patrick Scales Is Long Snapper

Not so fast on this one. Scales is the veteran but no long snapper who is 36 years old can be assumed as locking up his roster spot when there is competition on the roster. They have Cameron Lyons on the roster, a former Akron and North Carolina-Charlotte long snapper who signed last year with the Giants but didn't make the roster.

In most cases, it seems like long snappers get into the league this way. It's trial by training camp fire every year until they stick.

Is Scales getting too old to get downfield on punt coverage? If a team has a long snapper who can't help in coverage, it becomes 11-on-9 because no one's punter is a viable force in covering the punt. Most would be better off jogging over to the sidelines after punting. So a long snapper with the same issue is going to make for a poor punt coverage team.

Then again, maybe Scales has something left in this regard.

Either way, it's not safe to assume one way or the other.

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.

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