Offense (25)
QB (2): Caleb Williams, Tyson Bagent
RB (4): D’Andre Swift, Khalil Herbert, Roschon Johnson, Velus Jones Jr
FB (1): Khari Blasingame
OL (9): Braxton Jones, Teven Jenkins, Coleman Shelton, Nate Davis, Darnell Wright, Ryan Bates, Kiran Amegadjie, Matt Pryor, Bill Murray
TE (4): Cole Kmet, Gerald Everett, Marcedes Lewis, Brenden Bates
WR (5): DJ Moore, Keenan Allen, Rome Odunze, Tyler Scott, DeAndre Carter
Defense (25)
DE (6): Montez Sweat, DeMarcus Walker, Darrell Taylor, Austin Booker, Dominique Robinson, Jacob Martin
DT (4): Andrew Billings, Gervon Dexter, Zacch Pickens, Chris Williams
LB (5): Tremaine Edmunds, TJ Edwards, Jack Sanborn, Amen Ogbongbemiga, Noah Sewell
CB (6): Jaylon Johnson, Tyrique Stevenson, Kyler Gordon, Terrell Smith, Josh Blackwell, Jaylon Jones
S (4): Jaquan Brisker, Kevin Byard, Jonathan Owens, Elijah Hicks
Special teams (3)
Tory Taylor, Patrick Scales, Cairo Santos
Thoughts
If there was any drama in the 2024 53-man roster, injuries robbed us of almost all of it. Ian Wheeler goes from a Hard Knocks hopeful to being placed on season-ending IR alongside Dante Pettis, who’s been the Bears WR #5 thus far this preseason. I don’t love that Chicago hasn’t seen anything from 31-year-old DeAndre Carter this offseason, but with $375,000 in guaranteed money there’s no other WRs left to roster so I think he makes the team. That leaves three spots on the roster up for debate — OL#9 (assuming 9 OL), TE #4, and DE #6.
For OL#9, I picked Murray based on how early Chicago seems content to put him in the preseason games and the performances he’s shown us so far, but if someone else has outdone him in practice the coaching staff will likely roll with the hot hand. For TE#4, Shane Waldron uses too many TEs to not include a 4th TE & I think Bates offers Chicago a young player with production that can grow into a role as a blocker and seam-runner.
DE#6 is a stretch, but I went with Martin for now. The 53rd man on any roster could be anybody — especially given the changes to special teams that the new kickoff rule necessitates — and there’s always a chance that the Bears choose to find their 53rd player amongst cut candidates as opposed to choosing either Daniel Hardy, Jacob Martin, or Micah Baskerville.
As players go I prefer Baskerville, but in moments of ambiguity I defer to the easiest option available: guaranteed money remaining on their contracts. Jacob Martin has just over $600,000 guaranteed dollars while Baskerville and Hardy have none. Both of the latter would immediately be candidates to join Chicago’s practice squad while Martin would be lost as soon as you cut him. Thus, I think Martin is a safe pick for this spot (even if the spot itself may not be filled by a current Bear).
I do wonder if the Darrell Taylor trade signals trouble for Martin — with reports out of Seattle suggesting that Taylor plays much closer to 245lbs than his listed 265lbs, the Bears will now have two lighter ends and may not feel the need to carry three. Maybe special teams skill decides this choice, and that could lead them back to Travis Homer (who I’m cutting otherwise because he’s expensive and has disappointed me this offseason) or someone else they’ve liked this offseason. We’ll have to wait and see.
If you want more analysis, check out the latest in Bear With Us.
Your Turn: Who do you want to see make the team? Why or why not?