Points of Concern on 53-Man Bears Roster

The final Bears roster contained only a few surprises, although time softened those.

For instance, if someone had told anyone Tyson Bagent would beat out quarterback P.J. Walker for backup quarterback at the outset of training camp, they would have been accused of spending too much time at the legal dispensary.

As preseason proceeded, it seemed less of a wild move to keep a Division II quarterback behind Justin Fields. They could still bring back Nate Peterman as a practice squad quarterback to provide that veteran influence with knowledge of the system who would be valuable for a rookie who is in over his head. Or, it's possible someone on the QB list of waived players appeals to the Bears more. We'll find that out later on Wednesday.

Beyond that, here are points of contention about this roster as the Bears staff has chosen it.

Chicago Bears 2023 53-Man Roster

Quarterbacks (2): Justin Fields, Tyson Bagent

Assessment: Insufficient pocket passing expertise, or at least it must be proven to exist.

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

Assessment: Everything a team could want for the backfield is in the Bears running backs room. But the closest thing they have to a complete back is Johnson and he's a rookie.

Wide Receivers (6): DJ Moore, Darnell Mooney, Chase Claypool, Tyler Scott, Velus Jones Jr., Equanimeous St. Brown

Assessment: Claypool can be the X-factor, after missing much of the off-season and even a big chunk of training camp.

Tight Ends (3): Cole Kmet, Robert Tonyan Jr., Marcedes Lewis

Assessment: Considering Lewis is 39 years old, it will be good to have at least one more on the practice squad ready to take the third tight end role.

Offensive Line (10): Cody Whitehair (G/C), Lucas Patrick (C/G), Darnell Wright (T), Braxton Jones (T), Nate Davis (G), Larry Borom (T), Ja'Tyre Carter (G), Dan Feeney (G/C), Doug Kramer (C), Teven Jenkins (G)

Assessment: They really need Wright to be healthy and quickly become the physical presence they saw in their draft assessment. They also need Davis to be the athletic, powerful blocker in the running game they saw in Tennessee. That's because both Patrick and Whitehair are in their 30s and Jenkins has had one injury issue after another. The needed power must come from Jenkins, Davis and Jones. The others are necessary technique guys.

Defensive Line (9): DeMarcus Walker (DE), Yannick Ngakoue (DE), Rasheem Green (DE), Justin Jones (DT), Andrew Billings (DT), Gervon Dexter Jr. (DT), Zacch Pickens (DT), Terrell Lewis (DE), Dominique Robinson (DE)

Assessment: Somehow Poles seems convinced about Robinson developing into a pass rusher who closes with sacks, when he hasn't done it. Otherwise Gipson would still be there. With Walker and Green capable of moving inside to tackle in pass rush situations, there wasn't a need for another defensive tackle. It was fairly obvious Travis Bell would be the odd man out.

Linebackers (5): Tremaine Edmunds, T.J. Edwards, Jack Sanborn, Noah Sewell, Dylan Cole

Assessment: Because of Edmunds and Edwards, they've been graded among the top five linebacker crews by several analysts, including Pro Football Focus. The depth must be questioned, unless Cole is 100%. Usually linebackers play big roles in special teams coverage and they're lacking one more for this purpose.

Defensive Backs (10): Eddie Jackson (S), Jaquan Brisker (S), Jaylon Johnson (CB), Kyler Gordon (CB), Tyrique Stevenson (CB), Josh Blackwell (CB), Jaylon Jones (CB), Terell Smith (CB), Elijah Hicks (S), A.J. Thomas (S)

Assessment: They've shown out in preseason and camp as a group of ballhawks but the key will be whether the defensive line gets enough pressure to let them work their skills at picking off passes.

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

Assessment: Above average group, though Scales is now 35 years old. At some point that can't be a positive in punt coverage because then there are two people on that group—the long snapper and punter—who can't be counted on to be tacklers.

Notes and Concerns

1. Not Enough Linebackers

Five linebackers isn't going to do the trick for a 4-3 defense, even if they are playing just two on more of the downs. Making matters worse, Dylan Cole spent virtually all of training camp and preseason with an injury, and in the last preseason game rookie backup Noah Sewell suffered an injury. Apparently Sewell's injury isn't severe or they would have surely kept another linebacker.

2. Blocking and Receiving Backs

They've covered themselves at running back in case Roschon Johnson isn't quite ready to handle pass blocking and receiving because they kept Travis Homer. Khalil Herbert had a drop in the last game and it's a reminder that they really lost a valuable all-around player in David Montgomery because he could stay on the field in passing situations.

3. Adding at Tight End

Stephen Carlson knows the offense but couldn't convince them to keep him on the roster. It's entirely possible he'd be a fourth to return, or Lachlan Pitts would, but with all the league's cuts coming down they could surely find one who would be better suited to play both special teams if on the roster, or to be the fourth tight end either on the roster or practice squad.

4. Centers of Attention

They're covered at center with Doug Kramer added on to the roster. When Jenkins returns, it's possible they would need to cut or trade someone and risk losing them by bringing them back for the practice squad.

Dan Feeney, the guard they just acquired who plays center, sort of defeats the purpose of having both of the young linemen on the roster.

"You've got an inside guy, a guy you feel can play all spots and back up and be a good starter there," Eberflus said of Feeney. "That's really it. It's kind of like having a good swing tackle. That's really what the thought process is there."

Eberflus didn't want to say yet whether Cody Whitehair was going to be at center or guard. They're still hoping he gets over the injury he had to his hand.

5. The Punt Returner

Look for Tyler Scott to have those duties. They haven't announced it but he has proven he can handle the fielding aspect of punt returns. This is the most important part. What does this do for Velus Jones Jr.? He would be the kick returner but it's not always possible to have six receivers active on Sunday. They've been trying Scott at this, too. However, he lacks Jones' power/speed combination, and on a few returns Saturday got obliterated. If they had someone who did both, like Jones was tried at last year, they'd be better off. They'll be checking waivers just to make certain they don't let someone like this go elsewhere.

6. Unsafe at Safety

The inexperience behind the starters is huge, but the other issue is both Brisker and Jackson have been hurt in preseason and Jackson is coming off a season-ending injury. Hicks had two starts and 15 games played last year with 168 defensive plays. A.J. Thomas has 13 defensive plays on his ledger.

7. Ryan's Guys

With Vildor and Gipson gone, there are now just 12 players left on the roster from the era of GM Ryan Pace. Gipson was the last defensive lineman who had played the two-gap system for the Bears before Matt Eberflus' one-gap.

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