The Bears’ initial 53-man roster will be announced in just a few days, and trying to project this one is rather difficult. Most of the main positions are mostly settled, but there are several players dealing with injuries, so trying to figure out how the Bears plan to maneuver those players so they can get everyone to their designated injury list is a bit more challenging.
Here’s my best guess as to how the 53-man roster looks on Sunday (* are explained in the comments for each group)
Quarterback (3): Caleb Williams, Tyson Bagent, Case Keenum
Why burn words
on the most straightforward group at any position on the team?
Running Back (4): D’Andre Swift, Kyle Monangai, Salvon Ahmed, Roschon Johnson
I think most projections here will be three running backs. I’m going to go with four thanks to Ozzy Trapilo (more on that later). I think Ahmed makes the team as the third running back and Roschon finishes out his contract playing largely on special teams.
Wide Receiver (6): Rome Odunze, Luther Burden, Kalif Raymond, Jahdae Walker, Zavion Thomas, Kaden Davis
Based on how the Bears have signed multiple veteran wide receivers, I get the idea they want to keep 6 on the roster. I think the top 5 are pretty straightforward, and I think with a strong camp, Kaden Davis makes the roster this year and the Bears see if Davis has finally found a home after being quite the nomad to start his career.
Tight End (3): Colston Loveland, Cole Kmet, Sam Roush
This one is about as straightforward as the QB room.
Offensive Line (9): Braxton Jones, Joe Thuney, Garrett Bradbury, Jonah Jackson, Darnell Wright, Logan Jones, Luke Newman, Jordan McFadden, Theo Benedet
Alright, so with this one, you’ll see that Ozzy Trapilo is missing. The Bears are allowed to move two players directly to IR without playing the “put them on the original 53, and then move them to IR the next day and bring back someone you just cut” game. I say they do that with Trapilo. I think based on the struggles of Amegadjie and Wills, it’s just time to let them go and use Benedet as the swing tackle until Trapilo can return. When Trapilo gets back, if the offense is fully healthy, that’s when I would look at Roschon Johnson potentially getting released, but odds are, there will be more injuries to the team because, well, it’s the NFL.
Special Teams (3): Cairo Santos, Tory Taylor, Beau Gardner
With Luke Elkin gone, this room is already set.
Defensive Ends (6/5): Montez Sweat, Austin Booker, Daniel Hardy, Marcus Davenport, Jamree Kromah, Shemar Turner*
The defense is certainly trickier than the offense, but let’s take a shot. With this group, I think Turner is moved to the injured list but not with one of those two initial spots, which means he’s going to have to be placed on the 53 and moved the next day. I think the Bears initially keep 6 here with the idea that it’s actually a 5-person room. Sweat and Austin, of course, are here. Hardy is a great special teamer and has been getting rotations with the 1s. Kromah has flashed enough that I think they give him a shot, and I can’t see the Bears bringing in Davenport just to let him go before the season starts.
Defensive Tackles (5): Grady Jarrett, Gervon Dexter, Dayo Odeyingbo, Neville Gallimore, Jordan van den Berg
For this exercise, we’ve moved Odeyingbo inside. The Bears really seem to want to try him as an interior pass rusher, so we will call him that for this purpose. I don’t know if Dexter is on the block or if the agent is just trying to drum up interest to try and get his client a bigger payday, but I think he’s here still on Sunday. Gallimore, of course, makes it, as does van den Berg. It does mean there is no room for Kentavius Street.
Linebackers (5): Devin Bush, TJ Edwards, D’Marco Jackson, Keyshaun Elliott, Ruben Hyppolite
I think this room is pretty straightforward. Noah Sewell is in the final year of his contract and hasn’t been on the field, and I just don’t see a spot for Jack Sanborn. Hyppolite could be gone, but I doubt the Bears go another direction after just one season. I think he gets another year to show improvement. The other four aren’t going anywhere.
Cornerbacks (5/6): Jaylon Johnson, Tyrique Stevenson, Malik Muhammad, Josh Blackwell, Jaylon Jones, Dontae Manning*
Here we see Kyler Gordon missing because I think he, like Trapilo, gets moved immediately to IR when the initial 53 comes out. I think Manning is initially released but is brought back as the 6th CB once they can move Turner over to the injured list. I think Terell Smith misses making the team this year after countless years struggling to stay healthy.
Safeties (4): Dillon Thieneman, Cam Lewis, Xavier Woods, Elijah Hicks*, Skyler Thomas*
No Coby Bryant here, and a banged-up Elijah Hicks makes this an interesting group. I think the Bears initially keep Hicks on the 53 and release Thomas, but swap them 24 hours later, with Hicks moving to the injured list and Thomas coming back onto the 53.
IR/PUP (4): Kyler Gordon, Ozzy Trapilo, Shemar Turner*, Elijah Hicks*
With this group, as I’ve mentioned in previous paragraphs, Gordon and Trapilo immediately move to IR, and Turner and Hicks get transferred to the injured list after initial cuts.
