Weeding Out Roster a Tough Bears Chore

Predicting the 53-man roster is even tougher when the talent level is only slightly higher for starters than for reserves and this is the reality the Bears face.

The numbers game that is forming a 53-man roster becomes extremely difficult this year for Bears coach Matt Eberflus and staff.

For one, the talent level on the roster as a whole is low after they gutted last year's roster without a way to immediately bring back better players in free agency. The idea is to build through the draft, and it becomes difficult without a first-round pick.

So, with talent low across the board, it becomes more difficult to judge the better players from those a little worse—those who must be cut.

Another reason it's tough is the new staff has no memory of last year. Sure, they have film. It's a team playing a different type of system on both sides of the ball and most of those players are gone. But the issue isn't the talent as much as allegiances.

This coaching staff has no more allegiance to Dazz Newsome than it does to Chris Finke. Last year's staff stashed Newsome and he would have had that extra edge over many of the players who were added.

Finally, with every team there is the need to have special teams players at the back of the roster. The need for special teams means a player who might be a better receiver or a bit better in pass coverage than another at his position winds up getting cut in favor of one equal or even a little less talented.

There have been many Bears who understood this. Sherrick McManis, now DeAndre Houston-Carson and at one time Josh Bellamy all probably had less talent to play their position on offense or defense, but they could cover on kicks or on punts or they could block and they retained value.

In the NFL, it all comes down to what you can do for the coach on a Sunday.

That being said, here's a projection of who the Bears will keep to help on Sunday and why coaches make these tough decisions.

Offense

Quarterbacks (2): Justin Fields; Trevor Siemian

The Tough Call: They'll cut Nathan Peterman but try to keep him around on the practice squad because he knows the offense. He's not high enough quality to be retained on the 53. It's unlikely other teams would try siging him off the practice squad so they could put him there. Some teams do keep three quarterbacks, like the Bears did last year. Others don't. The staff kept three last year because they more or less had committed to Nick Foles for 2021 in 2020 and because Fields was a rookie.

Running backs (4): David Montgomery; Khalil Herbert; Trestan Ebner; (FB) Khari Blasingame.

The Tough Call: The tight battle here is Ebner or Darrynton Evans for the third running back spot. Ebner showed so much versatility at Baylor and adds tremendous kick return potetial so he'll take that one.

Tight ends (4): Cole Kmet; Ryan Griffin; James O'Shaughnessy; Chase Allen.

The Tough Call: It's possible they would keep just three but they're going to find in camp that the two young free agents, Allen and Jake Tonges, have some skills. Allen was among the better college run-blocking tight ends. Tight ends coaches light up when they see a prospect who can block at the position. So will offensive coordinator Luke Getsy, who is used to seeing good blocking from tight end Marcedes Lewis in Green Bay.

Offensive line (9): Braxton Jones, T; Cody Whitehair, G/C; Lucas Patrick, C/G; Michael Schofield, G/T; Sam Mustipher, C/G; Larry Borom, T; Teven Jenkins, T; Julien Davenport, T; Zachary Thomas, G.

The Tough Call: The late addition of Schofield gives them so much more experience at either guard or tackle than they would have had. It's possible it could actually lead them to cut Sam Mustipher. This would depend on what they see from rookie center Doug Kramer. But Mustipher has enough experience to retain the backup center role and he has also now expanded his repertoire by playing guard all camp. Look for them to lean with this decision toward experience and cut both late-round rookies Ja'Tyre Carter and Kramer, but then bring them back for the practice squad. We're talking a seventh- and sixth-round pick here and it's expecting too much to think they can outperform a veteran like Mustipher.

Wide receivers (6): Darnell Mooney; Byron Pringle; Velus Jones Jr.; N'Keal Harry; Equanimeous St. Brown; Dazz Newsome.

The Tough Call: The connection St. Brown has with Getsy and the one he seemed to start to build with Fields as a 6-foot-5 target over the middle could be what save him. Also, St. Brown can play on special teams. The tough call will be Tajae Sharpe or St. Brown. Sharpe has been a producer in the past with Atlanta but it was a while ago now and he has no ties to Getsy's offense. Newsome's spot will be won only by his punt return value. How he fields the ball in preseason will mean everything. Punt returns are much trickier than kick returns. They do have players like Jones Jr., Pringle, Ebner or Herbert who can return kicks. Tracking down punts in a crowd is another matter and Newsome can do this. Someone will look at this and wonder what happened to Dante Pettis or David Moore. They don't help enough on special teams to sit around and take up a roster spot as the sixth receiver who doesn't play.

Defense

Safety (5): Eddie Jackson; Jaquan Brisker; Dane Cruikshank; DeAndre Houston-Carson; Elijah Hicks.

The Tough Call: This one is fairly clear cut, although there are a few undrafted players in camp who could turn heads in preseason games. Hicks is starting out from behind as he didn't practice in the offseason due to injury, but it shouldn't leave him at risk of being cut in favor of the undrafted players. He has great potential as a special teams player in addition to being a crafty, versatile defensive back who has also played cornerback.

Cornerback (6): Jaylon Johnson; Kyler Gordon; Tavon Young; Thomas Graham Jr.; Kindle Vildor; Greg Stroman Jr.

The Tough Call: Stroman is the real surprise here. He has played well at times in the past with Washington and the key has always been staying healthy for him. With both Young and Graham available, and Gordon even having the ability to move into the slot, the Bears will likely part ways with slot cornerback Duke Shelley.

Linebacker (6): Roquan Smith; Nicholas Morrow; Matthew Adams; Joe Thomas; Noah Dawkins; Christian Albright.

The Tough Call: Smith's decision not to practice until he gets serious offers from the Bears is sure to get their attention, especially when you examine the group of non-descript players after Nicholas Morrow and Smith. Even Morrow is no sure thing as a former D-III player coming off an injury that kept him sidelined all year. Jack Sanborn is a player they could retain on the practice squad. He is more of a downhill style linebacker than the fast coverage linebackers required by Eberflus and coordinator Alan Williams. Albright gets the nod over second-year linebacker Caleb Johnson because of great athleticism and speed, plus an ability to blitz that some other linebacker they have never showed.

Defensive line (8): Justin Jones, DT; Mario Edwards Jr., DT; Mike Pennel, DT; Khyiris Tonga, DT; Robert Quinn, DE; Trevis Gipson, DE; Dominique Robinson, DE; Al-Quadin Muhammad, DE.

The Tough Call: Not all their defensive tackles can stay and in this case Angelo Blackson hasn't played in a one-gap style his entire career, but Tonga is young and could adjust in this defense considering the exceptional explosiveness he flashed.

Special teams

Kicker: Cairo Santos

Punter: Trenton Gill

Long Snapper: Patrick Scales

The Tough Call: This staff doesn't have the attachment to Santos that the last one had, back from his days in Kansas City. So Scales needs to keep producing or they'll be shopping the waiver scrap heap or kickers. Santos must prove daily in camp and at Soldier Field that he has leg strength for the 50-plus-yard kick. The same concern over leg strength in unusually harsh conditions exists for Gill, as well. Neither the punter nor the kicker have camp competition. They'll get competition if they have a few poor games.

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