Chicago Bears 53-Man Roster Projections 3.0: Who Might Stick Around After Preseason Opener?

The Chicago Bears came away with a 34-10 win over the Cleveland Browns on Saturday afternoon. They bounced back after a sloppy first quarter and looked like the better team in every phase of the game (there's little doubt which roster's practice squad will feature the more talented unit).

With the Bears having quality depth across the board, they will have quite a few difficult decisions to make when making final roster cuts. A few players on the roster bubble had standout performances in the win over Cleveland.

How might the roster shake out next month with the first preseason contest in the books?

53-man roster prediction

QB (3): Caleb Williams, Tyson Bagent, Case Keenum

RB (3): D'Andre Swift, Kyle Monangai, Salvon Ahmed

WR (5): Luther Burden III, Rome Odunze, Kalif Raymond, Zavion Thomas, Jahdae Walker

TE (3): Colston Loveland, Cole Kmet, Sam Roush

OL (10): Braxton Jones, Joe Thuney, Garrett Bradbury, Jonah Jackson, Darnell Wright, Logan Jones, Theo Benedet, Kiran Amegadjie, Jordan McFadden, Ozzy Trapilo

DL (10): Montez Sweat, Austin Booker, Grady Jarrett, Gervon Dexter Sr., Dayo Odeyingbo, Neville Gallimore, Shemar Turner, Daniel Hardy, Jordan van den Berg, Kentavius Street

LB (6): Devin Bush, T.J. Edwards, D'Marco Jackson, Keyshaun Elliott, Jack Sanborn, Ruben Hyppolite II, (Noah Sewell - IR)

CB (6): Jaylon Johnson, Kyler Gordon, Tyrique Stevenson, Malik Muhammad II, Jaylon Jones, Josh Blackwell

S (4): Dillon Thieneman, Cam Lewis, Xavier Woods, Elijah Hicks, (Coby Bryant - IR)

Specialist (3):K Cairo Santos, P Tory Taylor, LS Beau Gardner

Notable changes from previous installments

Kiran Amegadjie sticks around over Jedrick Wills Jr.: Jedrick Wills Jr. flat-out did not play well against his former team. He was overpowered on a few occasions and was directly involved in the most negative plays on offense. Meanwhile, Kiran Amegadjie wasn't notably caught out of position at any point. He didn't have any flashy moments, but that's not the bar for an offensive tackle. With him being a former third-round pick who has two years left on his deal, Wills would have to be noticeably better to gain the edge, and he wasn't that on Saturday.

Ozzy Trapilo is activated from the PUP list: Ozzy Trapilo being activated from the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list earlier today is both an incredible athletic accomplishment and one of the most surprising developments that you'll ever see. We thought Coby Bryant would only be sidelined for 8-10 weeks (those were better days) in our previous 53-man roster installment, so him landing on IR opened up another roster spot.. Trapilo fills it in this installment. He also might soon fill the starting job at left tackle.

Ruben Hyppolite II gets the nod over Tony Fields II: Ruben Hyppolite II was all over the field against Cleveland. He played a LOT of snaps (which could mean they see this preseason as sink-or-swim for him), and didn't really have any glaringly bad ones. With the Bears already cutting ties with Zah Frazier, who they selected in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft, they won't want to get rid of the guy they selected one round earlier if they didn't have to. However, they clearly aren't the type to force it if he's not improving. With one preseason game in the books, it seems like they might not have to.

Other notable cuts

Kaden Davis: Unlike the first two 53-man predictions, we're now open to the idea of them keeping Davis around. However, we need to see a repeat performance in the final two preseason matchups to have a legit shot (and even then, it's a long one). There are only so many passes to go around, and the Bears have a lot of mouths to feed on offense. He's been a standout through the start of training camp, but the fact of the matter is he's also 27 years old with no career regular-season catches to his name. They will probably like their odds of getting him back on the practice squad.

Jamree Kromah: This might not be a popular one, and I, myself, am not thrilled with this outcome. The Bears are desperate for a quality pass-rush, and finding much-needed improvement via the back door of an improved Jamree Kromah would go a long way for their defense. The guy he beat for his first sack is no slouch, either. The Browns selected OT Austin Barber in the third round in April. Still, I couldn't find a spot for Kromah (yet) based on their current d-line rotation. However, I really hope they find a way to keep him around if he continues to be a menace throughout August.

Beanie Bishop Jr.: Like Kromah, cornerback Beanie Bishop Jr. was definitely one of the biggest winners from Saturday's matchup against Cleveland. He finished the contest with two interceptions that were gift-wrapped to him on a silver platter. However, I'm not sure the wounded ducks that he hauled in were enough to justify a roster spot. He'll need to string together a few strong performances first. He's still only 26 and has some untapped potential, but the Bears also have some depth in the CB room.

Roschon Johnson: Running back Roschon Johnson had a rock solid performance in Saturday's game against the Browns. However, Salvon Ahmed still managed to outperform him in that matchup. Based on everything we've heard from training camp, it seems like that's nothing new for the free agent pickup. The Bears usually keep four backs, but it seems like they might not be able to with much-needed depth in other areas (like both sides of the line and the secondary) this season.

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