A Bears 53-Man Roster Projection

The final Bears preseason game can rapidly become as distant a memory as anyone would like.

Unless the thought of Justin Fields being sacked behind the first-team offensive line or throwing a TD pass on the run against a bunch of Tennessee subs is something to cherish, then it's time to move on.

For some of the Bears it will be a final memory as cuts come Tuesday, maybe even Monday for some.

If there are surprises among those cuts, it's because some among Bears fans haven't paid attention to camp or preseason.

Here is a projection of the final 53-man roster.

Quarterback (3)

Andy Dalton, Justin Fields, Nick Foles

Running Back (3)

David Montgomery, Damien Williams, Khalil Herbert

Wide Receiver (6)

Allen Robinson, Darnell Mooney, Damiere Byrd, Marquise Goodwin, Dazz Newsome, Rodney Adams

Tight End (4)

Cole Kmet, Jimmy Graham, Jesse James, J.P. Holtz

Offensive Line (9)

T Jason Peters, G Cody Whitehair, C Sam Mustipher, G James Daniels, T Germain Ifedi, T Larry Borom, T/G Elijah Wilkinson, T/G Alex Bars, T/G Lachavious Simmons.

Defensive Line (6)

NT Eddie Goldman, DE Akiem Hicks, DE Bilal Nichols, NT Khyiris Tonga, DT Mario Edwards Jr., DE Angelo Blackson.

Outside Linebacker (5)

Khalil Mack, Robert Quinn, Jeremiah Attaochu, Trevis Gipson, James Vaughters

Inside Linebacker (4)

Roquan Smith, Danny Trevathan, Alec Ogletree, Joel Iyiegbuniwe

Secondary (10)

S Eddie Jackson, S Tashaun Gipson, S DeAndre Houston-Carson, S Deon Bush, S/CB Marqui Christian, CB Jaylon Johnson, CB Kindle Vildor, CB Artie Burns, CB Thomas Graham Jr., CB Desmond Trufant.

Specialists (3)

K Cairo Santos, P Pat O'Donnell, LS Patrick Scales

The Bubble Cuts

Tight end Jesper Horsted put on a show when he had a chance in the preseason finale with three TD catches, but the Bears need a fourth tight end to be a blocker and not a pass receiver. If they felt either Kmet or James could line up as a fullback/H-back type in short yardage situations, then they could cut Holtz and keep Horsted. Otherwise, they don't need a fourth receiving tight end on the active roster.

The toughest call is cutting Christian Jones at inside linebacker. Even though he was one of their depth signings, at the end of a final preseason game you don't expect to see veterans on the field unless they're going to be cut. And it was Jones out there near the end of the game playing with the players who can expect to go.

Christian Jones isn't a particularly strong asset on special teams and Iyiegbuniwe has been on them for three years. Plus, he showed enough the last two preseason games about his ability from scrimmage.

Keeping Simmons over Arlington Hambright is a coin toss. It could go the other way, as well. But Simmons is more of a tackle than Hambright and there is more of a potential depth problem at tackle than guard.

Keeping five edge rushers is something they did last year, and while it may not appear a necessity, James Vaughters was held out of the final preseason game. This is what happens with healthy players who are proven and need no extra work, like Goldman and Trevathan received in the game.

It would be very easy for them to keep Trufant over Tre' Roberson. But Trufant hasn't been around for personal reasons and simply assuming you've made the team is not a way to make the team. Trufant hadn't shown a great deal before he left camp a week and a half ago buy hadn't been awful. What seems more likely is they will be combing the cornerback cuts around the league very thoroughly, just as they will with tackle. But decent tackles get cut less often than good quarterbacks get cut.

The Third Quarterback

Matt Nagy's third quarterback has been on the practice squad. That's when it was Tyler Bray. Foles is not going that route. Because there are so many teams in the market for a proven backup, it would be difficult to imagine the Bears not pulling the trigger on a trade of their third QB at some point between now and the trade deadline. Then they would pick one up for the practice squad.

They'd be giving up an awful lot of knowledge about their offense by trading Foles, and it's someone who could help in the development of Fields. But the cap savings would be large in a trade and they could reap a decent draft pick by the move. Watch for some sort of deal, possibly after another QB injury or when it draws close to the trade deadline.

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