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Bears Roster Inventory: Where They Most Need to Keep Adding Players

The Bears are well short of the roster limit at this point and here's where need to add numbers to the roster ranked in order by position.
Gene Chamberlain|
Bears GM Ryan Poles addresses reporters at the NFL Scouting Combine.
Bears GM Ryan Poles addresses reporters at the NFL Scouting Combine. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

As the Bears come into the third week of free agency, their signing possibilities become more scarce and it looks more like a waiting game.

The players' agents are hoping it's now a buyer's market with player options available to tams, so they play hard to get. The teams are realistic with less cap space now available, and are waiting for the demands to drop. This is especially true for the Bears because, as the week began, they had the least amount of cap space available per Overthecap.com ($243,078).

There are roster spots across the NFL to fill. The Bears have 68 players on their offseason roster and GM Ryan Poles can go to 90.

Seven of those will be draft picks, unless they trade to gain more picks or the league finally relents and awards them third-round picks the next two drafts for losing assistant GM Ian Cunningham as new Falcons GM. Don't count on this, though. Even though it was Cunningham who just made a trade, who conducts the Atlanta draft, and who ran free agency, the league says it's hood ornament Matt Ryan who is in charge of Arthur Blank's personnel department. No go for a Bears comp pick.

The Bears are going to be looking to add a few more veterans, but there is no pressing need now because they don't even begin conditioning work at Halas Hall until a week prior to the NFL Draft, which starts in a month on April 23.

It's not just a matter of finding talent for starting spots and depth, but also simply to fill out the roster. They need 90 for the offseason roster and for when organized team activities begin in May.

It's time to take inventory based on last year's numbers and see where they most need to bring in players as undrafted free agents, draft picks, and through free agency, before they hit the field and begin working in the offense and defense again.

1. Wide receivers (6)

Luther Burden III, Rome Odunze, Jahdae Walker, Kalif Raymond, Maurice Alexander, JP Richardson

Get out the rolodex, call some agents. Going to OTAs with six receivers isn't  close to being a real option. They almost need to double their receiver total by the start of on-field OTA work. They took 11 to camp last year. There have been recent years where they had 13.

2. Secondary (13)

CB Jaylon Johnson, CB Tyrique Stevenson, CB Kyler Gordon, CB Jaylon Jones, CB Josh Blackwell, CB Zah Frazier, CB Terell Smith, CB Dallis Flowers, CB Dontae Manning, CB/S Cam Lewis, S Coby Bryant, S Elijah Hicks, S Gervarrius Owens.

They didn't bring back Nick McCloud, which many Bears fans would see as a positive. Considering they no longer have Nahshon Wright, Kevin Byard, Jaquan Brisker and Jonathan Owens, and that there were 19 on the 90-man last year, they better be thinking seriously about focusing on help here in the draft and free agency both.

3.  Offensive Line (12)

Center Garrett Bradbury, T/G Kiran Amegadjie, T Theo Benedet, G Kyle Hergel, G Jonah Jackson, T Braxton Jones, G Jordan McFadden, G Luke Newman, G Joe Thuney, T Ozzy Trapilo, T Jedrick Wills, T Darnell Wright.

They might need to add five or even six, especially because Trapilo won't be practicing, lean toward six. Last year they went into training camp with 17 offensive linemen. This group is obviously short two centers so they can have second-team and third-team snaps, unless they plan to convert Newman to full-time center work. A suggestion: Draft one and sign Olin Kreutz's son Josh, the Illinois center as a UDFA. He's going to have plenty of insight into what it takes to play the position in the NFL even though draft ratings aren't putting him in a range were he could be selected.

4. Defensive line (13)

DE Montez Sweat, DE Austin Booker, DE Daniel Hardy, DE Jamree Kromah, DE Dayo Odeyingbo, DE/DT Shemar Turner, DE Jonathan Garvin, DE Jeremiah Martin, DT Gervon Dexter, DT Grady Jarrett, DT Kentavius Street, DT Neville Gallimore, DT James Lynch

Although the raw numbers look close to sufficient, they probably need to add defensive tackle help because 5 1/2 is not quite enough. As for the edges, it's easy to look at the group and wonder how a team could have so many on a roster who provide so little support after Sweat and Booker.

Odeyingbo's Achilles tear possibly means he's unavailable until the regular season and Turner might not be ready until training camp as he comes off knee surgery. Considering they lost Tryon-Shoyinka and the two injuries, this group could add on three or four.

5. Linebackers (8)

Devin Bush, T.J. Edwards, D'Marco Jackson, Noah Sewell, Jack Sanborn, Ruben Hyppolite II, Nephi Sewell, Dominique Hampton

This is deceiving because it's possible the injuries to Edwards (broken leg) and Noah Sewell (Achilles) will limit anything they can do in the offseason, and perhaps into training camp. With Sewell it might beyond the season's start. So a pair of extras here might be necessary.

6. Tight End (5)

Cole Kmet, Colston Loveland, Stephen Carlson, Qadir Ismail, Nikoa Kalinic

They need to add at least one to reach the total of six they took to camp but might bring in two more. Whoever it is, they could use someone with a reputation as a run blocker. The preferable route would be Round 7 of the draft. A recommendation? Find a way to pick Ohio State's Will Kacmarek. Some see him as a seventh-rounder, others as high as Round 4. That sixth-round pick they gave away in a trade exchange for Joe Tryon-Shoyinka and a seventh-round pick would sure look good here. Too bad it's gone. They could trade a sixth and a seventh and move into the bottom of Round 5 and take a needed blocking tight end like Kacmarek.

Running Back (5)

D'Andre Swift, Kyle Monangai, Brittain Brown, Roschon Johnson, Deion Hankins

Bringing in one more back seems logical, if not two. They had six in the RB room for the offseason last year. Hankins had season-ending knee surgery last preseason, the second straight year this happened with one of their backs. It was Ian Wheeler last year. Gone is veteran Travis Homer after three seasons when he did almost nothing on offense. He's still lurking out there unsigned, though.

Quarterback (3)

Caleb Williams, Tyson Bagent, Case Keenum

They had Austin Reed on the roster last year in the offseason and training camp. Would they sign him back? Reed needs playing time. He's going to get it right now as a QB in the UFL for the Dallas Renegades. It's not as essential for Williams to get as many offseason reps as possible as it was last year, so they could find the work or the extra QB in camp.

Specialists (3)

K Cairo Santos, P Tory Taylor, LS Scott Daly

Going into OTAs, the Bears usually try to add two or three specialists to split the work duties, even when they are not significant challengers for jobs at training camp—camp legs or snappers.

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.

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