Bears set initial 53-man roster. Here’s everyone who made the team out of training camp originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
The Bears have their first 53-man roster of the year. After making a large wave of cuts ahead of Tuesday’s 3 p.m. deadline, here’s how the Bears look– for at least one day.
I say “first” 53-man roster and not “final” 53-man roster like you often see, because the Bears are far from done making changes. They will continue to tweak their depth chart, guys will move up and down from the practice squad throughout the year, and new players will join the team as GM Ryan Poles makes waiver claims. Those changes can come as soon as tomorrow.
But for now, here’s your first iteration of the 2024 Chicago Bears:
QUARTERBACKS (2)
Caleb Williams, Tyson Bagent
No surprises here. Williams was named the starter in the early stages of the offseason, not that there was any doubt that he’d lead the team out the gate. Over the course of the summer, Bagent showed that last year wasn’t a fluke. He’s not just deserving of an NFL job, he’s a solid backup in case Williams gets hurt.
RUNNING BACKS (4, but maybe really 5, then 6)
D’Andre Swift, Khalil Herbert, Roschon Johnson, Travis Homer
The top three guys in this group were locks. Homer was a safe bet to make the team as a core special teams player. Velus Jones Jr. might be considered the fifth RB in this group since the team moved him to the backfield partway through the summer and he stuck there. He’s currently listed as a WR, and more on that later, but he might be more accurately listed as an “offensive athlete” or “joke.”
Khari Blasingame was more of a question mark since new offensive coordinator Shane Waldron never had a dedicated fullback on his roster in Seattle, but Blasingame showed he can be an effective lead blocker in the backfield. According to the Chicago Tribune, the plan is to bring him back tomorrow once the team has made an IR move.
WIDE RECEIVER (6)
Keenan Allen, DJ Moore, Rome Odunze, Tyler Scott, DeAndre Carter, Velus Jones Jr.
You’d be hard pressed to find a more impressive trio of wide receivers than Allen, Moore and Odunze. Scott has also impressed this summer and looks much improved compared to his rookie campaign last year. Carter earned a spot in part because of his special teams prowess. Finally, Jones Jr. gets another shot in year three as his big play potential outweighed his penchant for muffing the ball as a return man. We’ll see how much wideout he really plays this year, though.
TIGHT ENDS (3)
Cole Kmet, Gerald Everett, Marcedes Lewis
Kmet has the opportunity to cement himself as a top-10 TE in the league this year. Everett should produce more in the offense than Robert Tonyan did last year. Meanwhile, if Lewis makes it to Week 1 and gets on the field, his 18 seasons playing in the NFL will set a new record for TEs. Blasingame’s potential inclusion on Wednesday likely took away a potential fourth spot for this position group.
OFFENSIVE LINE (10)
Braxton Jones, Teven Jenkins, Coleman Shelton, Nate Davis, Darnell Wright, Kiran Amegadjie, Ryan Bates, Doug Kramer, Matt Pryor, Bill Murray
Larry Borom will begin the year on IR with a designation to return, so he’ll miss a minimum of four weeks to start the season. Bates could also miss time as he works through an injury of his own, so Kramer could open the year as the backup center. Bears coaches have raved about Murray’s camp for much of the summer and he’ll work as a backup guard. Pryor’s flexibility gives the Bears an option both inside and outside. Amegadjie will be playing catch up after he missed the bulk of the summer program.
DEFENSIVE LINE (10)
Montez Sweat, Gervon Dexter, Andrew Billings, DeMarcus Walker, Darrell Taylor, Austin Booker, Dominique Robinson, Zacch Pickens, Chris Williams, Daniel Hardy
The Bears found the rotational pass rusher they were looking for when they traded for Taylor last week. Robinson showed enough in the summer on both defense and special teams to earn a spot. Meanwhile, Pickens’ status for Week 1 is still a mystery as he nurses an undisclosed injury. Williams will be the insurance policy in case Pickens isn’t healthy in time to play in the regular season debut. Hardy was not projected to win a job back in May, but he turned in one of the best preseason performances with splash plays across all four games. He can contribute on special teams too.
LINEBACKERS (5)
Tremaine Edmunds, T.J. Walker, Jack Sanborn, Amen Ogbongbemiga, Noah Sewell
The starting ‘backers were set on Day One of OTAs. Micah Baskerville made splashy plays in the preseason, but Ogbongbemiga and Sewell won the jobs because of their special teams prowess. Sanborn can act as the backup middle linebacker in addition to starting on the strongside.
DEFENSIVE BACKS (10)
Jaylon Johnson, Tyrique Stevenson, Kyler Gordon, Kevin Byard III, Jaquan Brisker, Terell Smith, Josh Blackwell, Elijah Hicks, Jonathan Owens, Jaylon Jones
Arguably the deepest position group on the Bears. Each player has been impressive this summer, over the course of their careers, or both. The team had to part ways with two more talented DBs in Adrian Colbert and Reddy Steward simply because there wasn’t space for them all.
SPECIAL TEAMS (3)
Cairo Santos, Tory Taylor, Patrick Scales
Only question here is if Scales will be ready to go for Week 1. He hasn’t participated in practice for several weeks, and if he eventually lands on IR look for the team to bring back Cameron Lyons.
Source Agencies
