The Chicago Bears Should Prioritize Two Specific Positions on the Waiver Wire

There are two areas where the Bears could still use some quality reinforcements.

Aug 29, 2026; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Chicago Bears running back Roschon Johnson (23) runs against the Tennessee Titans during the third quarter at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Chicago Bears cultivated their initial 53-man roster on Sunday afternoon. However, it's safe to assume some changes will be on the way over the next 24 hours.

Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune reports that undrafted rookie TE Hayden Large will go on Injured Reserve tomorrow. The same notion can presumably be applied to Coby Bryant. That will open up two roster spots for other additions to come through via the waiver wire.

While the Bears could go several different ways with those two spots (and they could also cut ties with a few other players along the way), they desperately need to address two specific positions before the season opener.

The Bears need to add another linebacker

Aug 15, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bears linebacker Jack Sanborn (57) tackles Cleveland Browns wide receiver Blake Whiteheart (86) during the first half at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Nobody expected the Bears to keep only four linebackers on their initial 53-man roster. They'll surely add another body (or potentially even two, depending on how many they land on their practice squad) via waivers. There's simply no way they're going into the season with that shallow of a LB room.

It's fair to question whether the Bears made the strategic decision to cut ties with Jack Sanborn over some of their more promising undrafted rookies because they liked their odds of getting him back. He was arguably their best special teams player on the unit, so losing him would hurt in the third phase if they don't land another strong contributor in that regard.

Alternatively, a few other solid linebackers also got handed their walking papers on Sunday. Trevin Wallace, Owen Papoe, Red Murdock, Taurean York, and Malik Harrison headline a long list of linebackers who would be quality additions to the roster. The Bears need to add someone here, and they have plenty of options to choose from.

They running back position could also use a face-lift

Aug 5, 2026; Lake Forest, IL, USA; Chicago Bears running back Salvon Ahmed (36) and running back Roschon Johnson (23) run on the field during training camp at Halas Hall. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Bears also made the somewhat surprising decision to cut ties with running back Salvon Ahmed. While Roschon Johnson brings much more to the special teams unit, saying that he doesn't bring much to offense would be an understatement. Likewise, it'd also be an understatement to say that Ahmed didn't significantly outplay him this preseason. It wasn't exactly a close battle between the two.

Unfortunately, Ahmed missing the preseason finale against Tennessee definitely hurt his odds of sticking around. With Kyle Monangai already on the mend with an injury of his own, they couldn't be in a situation where D'Andre Swift and Roschon Johnson were the only two healthy backs going into the season opener in Carolina. Well, I don't think they will do that anyway, but they would need to add to the room today for that to be the case.

Like linebacker, a few solid running backs also got cut on Sunday. Jaleel McLaughlin, Jaydon Blue, Zavier Scott, Velus Jones Jr., Jarquez Hunter, and Jam Miller would all make a ton of sense for Chicago. Yes, one of those names is not like the others; congratulations if you caught it. Seattle really did cut ties with the fumble specialist, though.

All jokes aside, this is a room the Bears should definitely target today. We all saw how Roschon Johnson performed over the final two preseason games, and it wasn't exactly pretty.