Bears Cut Napoleon Maxwell, Activate Artavis Pierce
The Bears continued to shape their roster Sunday for the start of on-field work this week by making a running back shuffle.
Undrafted rookie running back Napoleon Maxwell was cut while the Bears brought Artavis Pierce back from the Reserve/COVID-19 List.
Maxwell rushed for 2,090 yards on 392 carries with 22 touchdowns at Florida International and the Bears had signed him right after the draft.
They also had brought in Pierce from Oregon State then, as well. He had been put on the Reserve/COVID-19 list as soon as the agreement was reached on how to proceed with training camps by the NFL and NFLPA. Pierce figures to challenge Ryan Nall for backup status behind David Montgomery.
This leaves the Bears with only three actual running backs behind starter David Montgomery. Nall and Pierce will battle for the backup spot while Tarik Cohen is the third-down back and sometimes a slot or split receiver.
They have used Cordarrelle Patterson as a running back and likely will try to find more uses for him this season besides returning kicks.
Teams are slated to be allowed on practice fields Monday but only for walk-through practices and for conditioning. They'll also be involved in strength training.
Practices will be elevated to a higher level in a ramping up period starting Aug. 12, which will involve non-padded scrimmage and it will step up to actual padded practices by Aug. 17 with full contact allowed.
The roster move today still leaves the Bears with 82 players but are at the 80-man limit because John Jenkins and Eric Saubert do not count against the total while they're on the Reserve/COVID-19 List. When they come off of it, then a player will need to be cut.
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