Bear Digest

Veteran Trio Among Tryout Players at Bears Rookie Minicamp

Former Buffalo Bills tight end Tommy Sweeney and two other veteran players will be part of the group of players participating on a tryout basis at Bears rookie minicamp.
Gene Chamberlain|
Tommy Sweeney of the Bills tries to break free against the Rams. Sweeney is making a comeback and has a Bears veteran tryout.
Tommy Sweeney of the Bills tries to break free against the Rams. Sweeney is making a comeback and has a Bears veteran tryout. | Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The Bears have signed only nine undrafted free agents after they had only five draft picks in their class.

Someone must help populate the remainder of the 90-man roster for OTAs and the answer could come from tryouts at this week's rookie camp, which starts Friday at Halas Hall.

They will have 27 players attending the camp on a tryout basis, and of those three are actual veterans and not the usual undrafted rookies.

The three veterans are tight end Tommy Sweeney, defensive back Parry Nickerson and wide receiver Freddie Swain.

Of those, the most interesting might be tight end Sweeney, a seventh-round pick by the Buffalo Bills from Boston College in 2019. He made 18 catches for 165 yards in three seasons played from 2019-22.

It's an interesting option for the Bears because they need a third tight end. They signed undrafted free agent Brenden Bates from Kentucky to compete, and have Stephen Carlson from last year's practice squad.

Sweeney had an up arrow on his career after 2019 but suffered a foot injury in 2020 camp and was on PUP when he came down with COVID-19. He then developed myocarditis related to COVID and it jeopardized his playing career. Sweeney's contract ran out after 2022 and the Giants had him on their non-football injury last season until releasing him Nov. 28.

Is he 100% healthy now?

At BC, a school known for tight ends, he made 99 catches for 1,281 yards and 10 TDs.

Swain, a sixth-round 2020 pick out of Florida by Seattle, is a 6-foot, 199-pounder who had 42 receptions for Denver, Seattle and Miami from 2020-22.\

Nickerson is a cornerback drafted in the sixth round by the Jets in 2018 and has played 30 games over five seasons for the Jets, Jaguars, Packers, Vikings and Dolphins. Last year he was in five games for Miami. He has one pass defense and 33 tackles.

The nine undrafted free agents signed by the Bears were already reported by BearDigest and by many websites.

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Bates, Western Kentucky quarterback Austin Reed, Howard running back Ian Wheeler, Troy defensive back Reddy Steward, UCLA linebacker Carl Jones Jr., James Madison edge rusher Jamree Kromah, British Columbia tackle Theo Benedet, Illinois defensive tackle Keith Randolph and Louisiana-Lafayette receiver Peter LeBlanc are the undrafted free agents.

The list of undrafted free agents who will be at the camp on a tryout basis includes one of Caleb Williams' USC wide receivers and friend John Jackson.

Other undrafted free agents who will be at the camp on a tryout basis are:

• Troy WR Marcus Rogers

• Arkansas State DB Leon Jones

• Eastern Illinois DB Russell Dandy

• Villanova running back T.D. Ayo-Durojaiye

• Texas A&M safety Samuel Matthews

• Wisconsin DB Travian Blaylock

• UCF DB Decorian Patterson

• Abilene Christian DB Patrick Jolly

• Tulsa DB Kendarin Ray

• Georgia Tech LB Paul Moala

• Albany LB Brian Abraham

• Kansas LB Rich Miller Jr.

• Mississippi State TE Geor'quarius Spivey

• Sacred Heart center Josh Sokol

• North Dakota guard Donald Ventrelli

• Stonehill G David Satkowski

• Arizona State DT DeShaun Mallory

• Northern Arizona DT Mark Ho Ching

• Weber State T Noah Atagi

• Auburn G Kameron Stutts

• Winston-Salem WR R.J. Mobley

• UNLV TE Shelton Zeon

• Oregon State DE John McCartan

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven

Published | Modified
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.