Bears have four critical roster questions to answer as cut-down day arrives

Bears have four critical roster questions to answer as cut-down day arrives originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — You’ve probably heard this by now, but making the 2024 Bears roster is going to be much harder than making the previous two iterations that general manager Ryan Poles and head coach Matt Eberflus have put together.

That’s what happens after an offseason spent injecting talent into a 7-10 team that already had several foundational places in place.

In 2022, roster-cut day arrived with upward of 20 spots up for grabs. There were at least 10 hanging in the balance last year.

But with Tuesday’s roster-shave deadline on the horizon, the 2024 Bears have only a few open spots and several key questions to answer as they finalize their initial 53-man roster.

A long snapper issue?

Long snapper Patrick Scales has missed the last several weeks of practice with what has been described as a soft-tissue injury to his back.

Backup long-snapper Cameron Lyons has had a number of his snaps in the Bears’ final two preseason games.

As of Sunday, Scales had yet to return to practice or even be seen rehabbing with his injured compadres off to the side at practice.

“We’ll see. We’ll see,” Eberflus said Saturday when asked about Scales. “We don’t know right now. When we do know, we’ll have to make decisions once we’re there. We are ready to do that. We’ll be flexible.”

Scales’ status will play a role in how the Bears put together the backend of their roster. If they feel like this is a longer-term issue, they could put him on injured reserve with a designation to return. But teams only get two of those spots.

If Scales’ injury is going to keep him out for an extended period, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Bears bring in different long snappers for tryouts, given Lyons’ uneven performance in the preseason.

The Bears could also try to sneak Lyons onto the practice squad and elevate him for the first week or two should they choose to stick with him in Scales’ absence.

Larry Borom‘s injury and the OL depth

Eberflus didn’t have any update on swing tackle Larry Borom on Saturday. Borom injured his ankle during the Bears’ 34-21 preseason win over the Kansas City Chiefs and was carted off the field.

Borom’s spot on the roster was already in jeopardy due to the salary escalator he hit in his contract last season. There’s a pretty good chance the ankle injury will remove Borom from the 2024 picture.

The Bears will keep at least nine offensive linemen on the initial 53. Braxton Jones, Teven Jenkins, Coleman Shelton, Ryan Bates, Nate Davis, Darnell Wright, Matt Pryor, and Kiran Amegadjie are locks.

Guard Bill Murray seems to be in a good position to make the roster. He has had a good camp and received several shoutouts from Eberflus.

With Bates still dealing with an injury and Amegadjie just getting activated off the Non-Football Injury list, the Bears should look to keep at least one more offensive lineman on the 53 and might make it an even 10.

Bates’ Week 1 status being up in the air probably opens the door for Doug Kramer to make the initial 53. If there’s a chance Bates will be inactive for a week or two, the Bears will need to dress a backup center, and Kramer is their best option.

I feel like the Bears would prefer to keep tackle Jake Curhan over Kramer, but the need for a backup center is real until Bates is healthy. They could keep Curhan, try to get Kramer through to the practice squad, and then call him up until Bates is full go.

Offensive line projection:
Starters
Braxton Jones
Teven Jenkins
Coleman Shelton
Nate Davis
Darnell Wright

Depth
Ryan Bates
Matt Pryor
Kiran Amegadjie
Bill Murray
Kramer

PS: Jake Curhan

The defensive line

On Friday and Saturday, the Bears made two additions to the defensive line. They acquired edge rusher Darrell Taylor and defensive tackle Chris Williams in separate trades.

Taylor joins an edge rushing group that includes roster locks in Montez Sweat, DeMarcus Walker, and rookie Austin Booker.

That gives the Bears two waves of edge guys, but depending on how the math works, they’ll keep at least one more and potentially two.

When asked about Taylor potentially sucking up the bulk of snaps opposite Sweat, Eberflus said the Bears would “play the hot hand” opposite their Pro Bowl edge rusher. He named Walker, Taylor, Booker, and third-year edge rusher Dominique Robinson as potential hot hands to ride.

The Bears have been pleased with Robinson’s growth heading into Year 3. Robinson arrived in 2022 as a former quarterback/wide receiver still learning how to play the position. The Bears feel that he has done enough to give them some rotational snaps this season. At least initially. Robinson is also a valuable special teams contributor.

That leaves Daniel Hardy potentially left out in the cold. Hardy has had arguably the best training camp of anyone at Halas Hall, and his preseason performance should have allowed him to lock up a spot.

However, the roster math might not allow the Bears to keep Robinson and Hardy on the initial 53. I think Hardy has done more to earn a spot, but it’s clear that those inside Halas Hall still believe in Robinson and have seen growth in his game.

The Bears also have severe depth issues at defensive tackle, so on Saturday, they acquired Williams and a 2025 seventh-round pick from the Cleveland Browns in exchange for a 2025 sixth-round pick.

Williams played for Eberflus in Indianapolis, so he knows the scheme and should be able to give the Bears a handful of rotational snaps while Zacch Pickens is out.

That still only gives the Bears three defensive tackles. They currently have Byron Cowart on the 90-man roster, but I assume they’d like to try to sneak him onto the practice squad and promote him for Week 1 instead of keeping him on the initial 53.

Perhaps they’ll try to do the same with Hardy.

For now, I think the Bears will keep nine defensive linemen on the 53: Sweat, Booker, Walker, Taylor, Williams, Pickens, Robinson, Gervon Dexter, and Andrew Billings.

If they also want to keep Hardy, they’ll have to shave a spot elsewhere, with running back or cornerback being the obvious choices.

Which brings us to…

Last chance for Velus Jones

The Bears moved Velus Jones to running back because it was the final move they had to get the needed production out of the 2022 third-round pick.

Jones wasn’t cutting it at wide receiver, but he still has explosive speed that can’t be coached, so the Bears moved him to back to see if that was a better fit.

So far, so good.

The Bears also like Jones as a kick returner, so finding a way for him to provide value outside of a handful of specials teams plays was needed for him to grab one of the final spots.

Jones has many fans inside Halas Hall, and high draft picks usually get three years to figure it out. This is Jones’s last stand.

I assume he’ll make the initial 53, but one critical mistake, and he’s likely gone.

That would leave the Bears with six running backs on the roster and two players — Jones and Deandre Carter — whose primary purpose is returning kicks or punts and being a gunner on the coverage team.

I’m not sure that’s tenable.

Fullback Khari Blasingame could be the odd man out if the Bears need to shave a running back spot to make room for depth at another position.

Offensive coordinator Shane Waldron hasn’t used a full-time fullback since he was an offensive quality control coach for the New England Patriots in 2008, but Waldron is known for shaping his offense to his personnel, and Blasingame has not been an afterthought during install in camp.

Blasingame, Jones, Travis Homer, Roschon Johnson, and Khalil Herbert are all valuable on special teams.

If the Bears do keep six running backs, then that could mean that cornerback Greg Stroman is the odd man out of the initial 53. Stroman has played well during camp and deserves a spot, but the Bears are incredibly deep at corner with Jaylon Johnson, Tyrique Stevenson, Kyler Gordon, Josh Blackwell, Terell Smith, and Jaylon Jones.

Jones has been dinged up for a bit, but he has developed into a reliable depth corner who can slide in and start when needed.

Final roster projection

Quarterback (2): Caleb Williams, Tyson Bagent
Practice Squad targets: Brett Rypien, Austin Reed

Running back (6): D’Andre Swift, Khalil Herbert, Roschon Johnson, Khari Blasingame, Velus Jones Jr., Travis Homer

Wide receiver (5): DJ Moore, Keenan Allen, Rome Odunze, Tyler Scott, Deandre Carter
Practice Squad targets: Dante Pettis, Collin Johnson

Tight end (3): Cole Kmet, Gerald Everett, Marcedes Lewis
Practice Squad target: Brendan Bates

Offensive line (10): Braxton Jones, Teven Jenkins, Coleman Shelton, Nate Davis, Ryan Bates, Darnell Wright, Matt Pryor, Bill Murray, KIran Amegadjie, Doug Kramer
Practice Squad target: Jake Curhan

Defensive line (9): Montez Sweat, Gervon Dexter, Andrew Billings, DeMarcus Walker, Austin Booker, Darrell Taylor, Chris Williams, Dominique Robinson, Zacch Pickens
Practice Squad target: Daniel Hardy

Linebacker (5): T.J. Edwards, Tremaine Edmunds, Jack Sanborn, Noah Sewell, Amen Ogbongbemiga
Practice Squad target: Micah Baskerville

Cornerback (6): Jaylon Johnson, Tyrique Steveson, Kyler Gordon, Terell Smith, Josh Blackwell, Jaylon Jones
Practice Squad targets: Greg Stroman Jr., Reddy Steward

Safety (4): Kevin Byard, Jaquan Brisker, Jonathan Owens, Elijah Hicks

Specialists (3): Cairo Santos, Tory Taylor, Patrick Scales
Practice squad target: Cameron Lyons

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