The Chicago Bears have trimmed their roster to 53 players before Sunday night's deadline, which featured one swift group of cuts shortly after the team's preseason finale win over the Tennessee Titans.
There are a handful of players who made a case for a roster spot, but they didn't all make the cut. After forming the 53-man roster, Chicago will start putting together their practice squad, which should feature some of those names who just missed the cut.
But following some surprising roster cuts and potential waiver wire or free-agent pickups, the initial 53-man roster won’t necessarily be the final roster heading into Chicago’s Week 1 game against the Carolina Panthers.
Bears roster cuts
- CB Terell Smith: Chicago released the former fifth-round pick following a strong preseason finale. But with the addition of Clark Phillips, the writing was on the wall for Smith.
- WR Scotty Miller: Signed this offseason as a veteran to be in the mix for a spot in the receiver room, Miller finished the preseason with four receptions and just 28 yards. Receiver is one of the deepest position groups the Bears have, signaling the out for Miller.
- WR JP Richardson: Similar to Miller, Richardson didn't get much in the form of opportunities with Chicago, finishing the preseason with 6 receptions and 53 yards.
- OL Jedrick Wills: It was always going to be a tough battle for Wills to make the roster after he missed all of the 2025 season due to a knee injury, and he didn't do himself any favors in the preseason. The Bears have had a battle throughout the preseason for their starting left tackle job, and this will narrow down the choices.
- RB Salvon Ahmed: The competition for the team's third running back was won by Roschon Johnson after Ahmed was released. He played well in the preseason, but Johnson was praised for his consistency and improvement as the preseason continued on.
- OL Kiran Amegadjie: The former third-round pick joins a group of offensive tackles who did not make the cut, similar to Wills. Amegadjie had plenty of chances to make an impact over the past two seasons and never found his way in Chicago.
- OL Caden Barnett: "The Vanilla Gorilla" should be considered a candidate for the practice squad
- S Marlen Sewell: After spending rookie minicamp with the Kansas City Chiefs, Sewell spent time with the Bears in the preseason but didn't make the final cut.
- CB William Wright: Although the secondary is going to be a big area of focus for the Bears defense, William Wright had the odds stacked against him.
- OL Mason Murphy: Signed as an undrafted free agent, Murphy was waived by the team.
- LB Jon Rhattigan: An Illinois native, Rhattigan will be cut from his fifth team since joining the league in the 2021 season. He has previous stops with the Seattle Seahawks, Carolina Panthers, Pittsburgh Steelers, Las Vegas Raiders, and now the Bears.
- S Anthony Johnson Jr: A former seventh-round pick of the Green Bay Packers, Johnson will look for his fourth team after previous stops in Green Bay, Chicago, and the New York Giants.
- TE Stephen Carlson: With the team roster Colston Loveland, Cole Kmet, and rookie Sam Roush, there was not much room for more tight ends on the roster.
- DL Marcus Davenport: Signed just over a week ago, the veteran who had previous ties with defensive coordinator Dennis Allen didn't do enough to make the final cut.
- OL Wesley French: A former undrafted free agent who has spent time with the Indianapolis Colts, Dallas Cowboys, Cleveland Browns, and now the Bears, French couldn't cut the deep battle to make the offensive line group.
- DL James Lynch:
- LB Jack Sanborn
- WR Maurice Alexander
- WR Kaden Davis
- LB Antonio Grier
- OL Kyle Hergel
- TE Qadir Ismail
- DB Anthony Johnson
- WR Omari Kelly
- OL Jaren Kump
- DL Jeremiah Martin
- LB Wayne Matthews III
- QB Miller Moss
- DB Deantre Prince
- DB Beanie Bishop
- LB Ruben Hyppolite II
- DB William Wright
Bears trades
- DT Gervon Dexter: The Bears traded the former second-round pick to the Falcons in exchange for a fifth-round pick and cornerback Clark Phillips III.
Bears designations
- RB Brittain Brown
- LB Tony Fields
- DB Jaylon Jones
- WR Ray-Ray McCloud III
- DB Kyler Gordon
- LB Noah Sewell
- DL Shemar Turner
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Bears 53-man roster
- QB Caleb Williams
- QB Tyson Bagent
- QB Case Keenum
- RB D'Andre Swift
- RB Kyle Monangai
- RB Roschon Johnson
- WR Rome Odunze
- WR Luther Burden III
- WR Kalif Raymond
- WR Zavion Thomas
- WR Jahdae Walker
- TE Colston Loveland
- TE Cole Kmet
- TE Sam Roush
- TE Hayden Large
- OL Joe Thuney
- OL Darnell Wright
- OL Jonah Jackson
- OL Garrett Bradbury
- OL Ozzy Trapilo
- OL Braxton Jones
- OL Logan Jones
- OL Jordan McFadden
- OL Luke Newman
- OL Theo Benedet
- DL Montez Sweat
- DL Grady Jarrett
- DL Austin Booker
- DL Dayo Odeyingbo
- DL Jordan van den Berg
- DL Neville Gallimore
- DL Kentavius Street
- DL Jayden Loving
- DL Daniel Hardy
- DL Jamree Kromah
- LB T.J. Edwards
- LB Devin Bush
- LB D'Marco Jackson
- LB Keyshaun Elliott
- CB Jaylon Johnson
- CB Tyrique Stevenson
- CB Malik Muhammad
- CB Clark Phillips III
- CB Josh Blackwell
- S Coby Bryant
- S Dillon Thieneman
- S Xavier Woods
- S Cam Lewis
- S Elijah Hicks
- S Skyler Thomas
- K Cairo Santos
- P Tory Taylor
- LS Beau Gardner
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Chicago Bears 2026 cuts: Who missed out on 53-man roster?
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