Bear Digest

Roster Cut Clarifies Some of the Situation for Bears at Guard

The Bears had no problem letting go of a member of Ryan Poles' first draft class in the first wave of roster cuts.

Gene Chamberlain

Guard Ja'Tyre Carter, a seventh-round pick in 2022, has been cut by the Bears, according to NFL reporter Aaron Wilson.
Guard Ja'Tyre Carter, a seventh-round pick in 2022, has been cut by the Bears, according to NFL reporter Aaron Wilson. / Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
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Bears GM Ryan Poles can't be accused of playing favorites with his own draft picks in this case.

The first cut to become public during the cutdown crunch of Monday-Tuesday is 2022 seventh-round pick Ja'Tyre Carter, according to a report by Houston-based NFL reporter Aaron Wilson. The Bears have since confirmed the move.

This has to be good news for guard Bill Murray, who was the highest-graded Bears offensive lineman in preseason according to Pro Football Focus.

Carter did not have a poor preseason himself, according to those PFF grades.

The 226th player chosen in the 2022 draft, Carter got into 13 games for the Bears in two seasons and started in losses last season to Tampa Bay and Kansas City.

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Carter was inactive last year in Weeks 11, 14, 15, 17 and 18 and active without playing in Week 1 and 16.

Ja'Tyre is more caught in the numbers crunch than merely losing out to Bill Murray, whose spot isn't assured either.

With Ryan Bates and Matt Pryor both capable of playing guard and another position, and Murray impressive, the Bears appear to have guard well covered.

Coach Matt Eberflus was highly complimentary of both Murray and Pryor during preseason.

"He was really good," Eberflus said of Murray after his first preseason effort. "Real aggressive. I thought his zone game, jumping to the second level was outstanding. I think his pass sets need to improve a little bit with what he did there. But overall we were pleased with him."

Murray is a player New England converted to offensive line from defensive line and then put on the practice squad. He's actually been in the league since 2020 on practice squads.

Pryor had played guard all offseason when Nate Davis was unavailable, then moved outside to tackle. His versatility is a huge asset but not his only one.

"We love Pryor," Eberflus said Saturday after the win over the Chiefs on Thursday." Pryor can play all positions. That's why we love him. He could go inside, outside. He doesn't play center, but he can move inside, outside, guard on both sides, tackle on both sides. We're excited about him."

The guard position also includes the health of Ryan Bates, their center/guard who has been out since August began. Bates could be the first guard off the bench as Coleman Shelton has been playing center throughout camp and it would seem unlikely the offense would want to start out with a center who wasn't working with Caleb Williams. Davis is healthy now and playing with starters at right guard.

Twitter: BearsOnSI

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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.