53-Man Bears Roster Projection

Thinking ahead to tough decisions still to be made on Aug. 29 when the Bears must come up with their 53-man roster is nothing to put off for the future.

Coach Matt Eberflus admitted such discussions go on routinely between himself and GM Ryan Poles throughout the offseason work.

"We do it sometimes in the morning, we grab each other and start having a conversation and it's really about what do we project being the 53-man roster, what are the battles for training camp, what if this person goes down–are we OK with our depth at this certain spot?" Eberflus said. "We talk a lot of different topics about the roster, and I think it's important to do.

"You try to prepare yourself for anything that could happen during training camp and then leading up to the season. That's what we're doing right now."

If it's good enough for Eberflus to do now, then everyone else can do it as well.

Here's the BearDigest projection of the 53-man Bears roster coming out of OTAs and minicamp in the offseason.

The Bubble Boys

These players are on the fringe of the roster and whether they are cut could be determined by how many coaches keep at another positions or even at their positions: G Alex Leatherwood, CB Kindle Vildor, LB Sterling Weatherford, C Doug Kramer, C/G Dieter Eiselen, DT Travis Bell, LB DeMarquis Gates, S A.J. Thomas, RB Trestan Ebner, WR Dante Pettis.

Offense

Quarterbacks (2): Justin Fields, PJ Walker

Cuts: Nathan Peterman, Tyson Bagent

Why: This is a tough call because the new rules allow for a third inactive emergency quarterback on Sundays but only so long as they are already on the 53-man roster. Those promoted as part of the two-man call-up from the practice squad can't fulfill this role. Keeping Peterman on the roster can give the Bears peace of mind in case something happened to both Fields and Peterman on a given Sunday. In Walker, the Bears have the 11th best backup quarterback, according to Sports Illustrated rankings. They have a veteran in Peterman who has started five games, played in 13 and has five seasons when he was active in the NFL. He knows the offense and started a game last year. They'll be putting him at risk of being lost to another team by leaving him on a practice squad but there are too many players at other positions who need the roster spot. Bagent would be fine as a long-term project on the practice squad if they decide they can spare the practice squad spot.

Running Backs (5): Justin Herbert, D'Onta Foreman, Roschon Johnson, Travis Homer, Khari Blasingame (FB)

Cuts: Trestan Ebner, Robert Burns (FB).

Why: Keeping one more back than they really need on the roster is more due to special teams needs. Homer is a skilled special teams player and also fills a receiving/pass blocking role in some situations, like if they're well behind in a game and must throw extensively. He also has a two-year contract. The real issue here is getting enough carries for Johnson, who everyone raved about so much during the draft. Herbert and Foreman are 1 and 1A. It's too bad for Ebner because he really didn't get much of a chance to prove himself last year, but he'll have training camp to put his skills on display in case there is something the Bears have missed, or in case of injuries to others.

Wide Receivers (7): DJ Moore, Chase Claypool, Darnell Mooney, Tyler Scott, Velus Jones Jr., Equanimeous St. Brown, Dante Pettis

Cuts: Aron Cruckshank, Daurice Fountain, Thyrick Pitts, Joe Reed, Nsimba Webster.

Why: Pettis might be hanging onto the roster by a special teams thread. Then again, the same could be said about Jones unless he shows real improvement with his offensive system knowledge and route running. The Bears gave both Jones and Scott chances to field punts in practice. If Jones showed enough improvement at it, or Scott showed he could do it for the first time since high school, it would be easy to see them going with only six receivers on the roster and relying on one or two of the cut victims as practice squad call-ups in case of injuries. Pettis probably wouldn't have a job then, but his system knowledge and play during OTAs and minicamp showed he can still bring something to the team if he makes the roster. He and St. Brown immediately stepped in with starters when neither Claypool nor Mooney were available due to injuries and the attack was fine.

Tight Ends (3): Cole Kmet, Robert Tonyan Jr., Stephen Carlson

Cuts: Chase Allen, Jake Tonges.

Why: Either Allen or Tonges would be worth keeping as a fourth tight end if they had the roster space but the signing of Carlson left them in that fourth role. This is an often-injured position in the NFL and one of them likely would get the call-up.

Offensive Line: (9): Cody Whitehair (C), Teven Jenkins (G), Nate Davis (G), Braxton Jones (T), Darnell Wright (T), Lucas Patrick (G/C), Larry Borom (T/G), Ja'Tyre Carter (G), Doug Kramer (C).

Cuts: Alex Leatherwood (G/T), Kellen Diesch (T), Josh Lugg (T/G), Roy Mbaeteka (T), Lorenz Metz (T), Dieter Eiselen (G/C), Robert Haskins (T), Gabe Houy (G).

Why: The big decisions are Leatherwood or Carter and either Kramer or Eiselen. Carter is a guard and actually had first-team snaps during OTAs so it's obvious they think highly of him. Kramer's limitation is he has been only a center but it wouldn't be surprising if he got guard reps in training camp, as well, so he could get on even footing with Eiselen. Diesch is a player who could eventually figure as a backup tackle, as well. Leatherwood just hasn't had the impact they would want from a veteran waiver pickup. He rated as a good tackle or guard depth piece but struggled in very limited playing time last year. Borom is ahead of him at tackle. Even though Eberflus talked at minicamp's end to media about Borom's need to be in better shape, there is no indication they would actually elevate Leatherwood or one of the undrafted free agents ahead of him. The cut victims are loaded with practice squad types capable of being tackle projects, like Houy, Haskins or massive Metz.

Defense

Defensive Line (8): DeMarcus Walker (DE), Rasheem Green (DE), Justin Jones (DT), Andrew Billings (DT), Trevis Gipson (DE), Dominique Robinson (DE), Zacch Pickens (DT), Gervon Dexter (DE).

Cuts: Travis Bell (DT), D'Anthony Jones (DL), Donovan Jeter (DT), Jalyn Holmes (DE), Jalen Harris (DE), Andrew Brown (DT), Terrell Lewis (DE).

Why: Expect one more defensive end added before the end of training camp, if not earlier. Then it will mean Bell is a cut victim because they won't take 10 defensive linemen on the 53-man roster. Lewis is a defensive end. The Bears continue listing him on their roster as a linebacker. He isn't a linebacker in this scheme. He practiced with the defensive lineman position group throughout the offseason and lines up as an end. They just haven't properly updated his position. If they don't find another defensive end, he could be an alternative to Bell should they decide they want the extra edge rush help over a fifth tackle. But the fact two of their ends can move inside to tackle for pass rush situations (Green and Walker) makes a fifth tackle a luxury item.

Linebackers (6): Tremaine Edmunds, T.J. Edwards, Jack Sanborn, Noah Sewell, Dylan Cole, DeMarquis Gates.

Cuts: Sterling Weatherford, Kuony Deng, Micah Baskerville.

Why: Gates has shown more versatility during practices within the defensive scheme than Weatherford, who is a special teams player and hasn't really displayed much with the defensive scheme. At 6-4, Eberflus likes Weatherford's length but he has a 6-5 middle linebacker starting now so a 6-4 reserve who plays mostly special teams isn't essential. The sixth linebacker spot held by Gates or Weatherford really is dependent upon whether they sign that extra defensive end. It could also mean they keep only six wide receivers or four running backs. But the extra linebacker spots are critical for special teams, as well.

Secondary (10): Eddie Jackson (S), Jaquan Brisker (S), Jaylon Johnson (CB), Kyler Gordon (CB), Tyrique Stevenson (CB), Terell Smith (CB), Josh Blackwell (CB), Jaylon Jones (CB), Kendall Williamson (S), Elijah Hicks (S)

Cuts: Kindle Vildor (CB), Michael Ojemudia (CB), Greg Stroman Jr. (CB), A.J. Thomas (S), Macon Clark (S), Adrian Colbert (S), Bralen Trahan (S).

Why: They would lose a lot of experience with Vildor's departure but Blackwell's ability to play the slot keeps him in place and Smith has been injured but if healthy for camp is the fifth-round pick made by Poles while Vildor is one made by Ryan Pace. Smith has good arm length and height. Vildor is faster but he's been faster than almost all the cornerbacks they've brought in over the last three years and hasn't been able to elevate his coverage enough. It would be surprising to see them keep Vildor over Jones, who last year showed off an SEC pedigree in coverage. He had a 97.3 passer rating against and Vildor has never been below 110. Last year he allowed two less TD passes (1) than Vildor (3) when targeted and faced six more (44) passes than Vildor (38).

Specialists (3): K Cairo Santos, P Trenton Gill, LS Patrick Scales.

Cuts: K Andre Szmyt, P Ryan Anderson.

Why: Szmyt is a strong-legged kicker and keeping him on the practice squad isn't out of the question.

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