3 Bears Whose Roster Spots Could be in Jeopardy With Players Returning From IR

The Chicago Bears a few tough decisions to make over the next two weeks.

They opened up the 21-day practice windows for linebacker Noah Sewell and defensive lineman Shemar Turner on September 23. That means they would have to be activated to the 53-man roster by next Wednesday in order to play this season.

They're in a similar position with cornerback Kyler Gordon. They opened his 21-day practice window on September 30. That would give him one more week to join the active roster before he suffered a similar fate.

With Turner and Sewell both providing quality depth, and Gordon being one of their best players in the secondary (on the rare occasion when he's healthy), all three seem like safe bets to return to the lineup. Three players would need to get cut in corresponding moves, though.

Which unlucky few stand out as potential roster casualties?

James Lynch

Some might find this one surprising. We went back and forth between James Lynch and Jayden Loving (they'll likely need to cut ties with a defensive tackle, since they're not really in a great position to release a corner).

The Bears previously cut Lynch over Loving when cultivating their 53-man roster. They didn't want to risk losing the promising undrafted rookie to waivers. It's probably less of a fear with him being a healthy scratch over the first month, but we could see a scenario where they don't want to risk it.

The coaching staff has to like what they've seen from Lynch when he's been out there, though. The 27-year-old played over 30% of the snaps in each of the first three games (before being a healthy scratch last week) and has been one of their better run defenders when he's been on the field. Lynch would be a lock to rejoin the practice squad if he clears waivers.

We just saw Marcus Davenport play 12 snaps against the Jets after being called up to the active roster. They'd probably have a similar plan for Lynch later this season.

Jamree Kromah

Edge rusher Jamree Kromah is in nearly the exact situation as Lynch. However, he's actually in a more similar spot to Loving. The Bears didn't want to risk losing either player after they both showed major flashes throughout the preseason. Neither player has cracked the gameday roster yet, though.

Shemar Turner will probably play a similar hybrid role to Dayo Odeyingbo. That fact could see Kromah losing a numbers game he presumably barely survived on roster cutdown day.

Daniel Hardy's role is safe due to the value he brings on special teams. Kromah doesn't bring that same impact, which is why he hasn't seen the field over the first month of the season. He's another player they'd love to bring back to the practice squad.

Skyler Thomas

Skyler Thomas' job feels like the safest of the three players listed here. However, we struggle to see a scenario where they cut ties with Clark Phillips III after acquiring him in the trade for Gervon Dexter Sr. last month (even if he hasn't played a defensive snap). We also gave Jack Sanborn a slight edge thanks to his special teams value.

Thomas' job definitely won't be safe once Coby Bryant returns from IR in (hopefully) December. Nevertheless, with Gordon's return on the horizon, he might not stick around that long.

The Bears would only have three pure safeties on the roster if they cut ties with Thomas, but Cam Lewis is a hybrid player with a ton of experience on the back end. They wouldn't need him to provide depth at nickelback anymore, either.

Stop me if you've heard this one before, but Thomas would also be brought back to the practice squad. The fact that it's difficult to find cut-worthy players is a testament to the team's depth. This one would've been a lot easier to write in the pre-Ben Johnson era.

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