Chicago Bears waiver wire madness is over, and with the dust officially settled their initial 53-man roster is complete!
The Bears managed to add 4 new faces to the roster through trades, signings, and waiver claims:
- OL Dan Feeney
- WR/PR Trent Taylor
- DE Khalid Kareem
- DB Quindell Johson
But what do these four bring to the roster that the 90-man roster didn’t already have? What does the ultimate shape of the roster tell us about the Bears’ plans for 2023? And how on earth did Velus Jones Jr. keep his job?
Nick and I break down all this and more on the latest episode of Bear With Us — now available in both video & audio forms. Give it a listen/watch and let me know what you think!
Podcast Form:
Note: Video Form is available after the ‘jump’
Video Form:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkFOzs2gEGc?version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&wmode=transparent&w=640&h=360]
Bonus:
I put together a short film breakdown on Khalid Kareem — he’s a long, run-defending DE that’s about as slow as you’ll see in the NFL these days. He’s not a pass-rusher (though good in contain roles) but he has the physical makeup to defend the edge well and that seems to be Matt Eberflus’ emphasis at EDGE these days.
Time will tell if the Bears’ run-stopper help the defense more than their relative lack of pass rush hurts. Until the games are played (and we see Eberflus’ true 2023 defensive identity), we just won’t know.
I wanted to be mad that the #Bears waived Terrell Lewis to add Khalid Kareem, but a quick look at Kareem’s tape shows exactly the DE I imagine Flus craves.
Kareem has 34 3/8ths inch arms and an 84 inch wingspan — for comparison, Tyree Wilson’s wingspan is 86in.
Kareem uses… pic.twitter.com/4fk6X8wUdW
— Robert Schmitz (@robertkschmitz) August 31, 2023
Your Turn: How do you feel about the current construction of the Bears’ 53-man roster?