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53-man roster projection: Is there room for Javon Wims?

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1/12

The Bears need to reduce their 80-man training camp roster to 53 on Saturday, Sept. 5 -- less than a week from now. There's not much time left for players to earn spots on the 53-man roster, so barring injuries, who you'll see in here is who I expect the Bears will have available when Lions week practices begin on Labor Day. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2/12

On the team: Mitch Trubisky, Nick Foles
Practice squad (1): Tyler Bray

As usual, nothing to see here. All three quarterbacks are locked into their respective spots on the 53-man roster or practice squad. The Bears did work out some quarterbacks – like ex-Lions and Vikings backup Kyle Sloter – but that’s probably just to update their rolodex if something were to happen to any of these three during the regular season.

 

 

 

 

 

 

3/12

On the team: David Montgomery, Tarik Cohen, Cordarrelle Patterson, Ryan Nall
Practice squad (1): Artavis Pierce

Patterson had a good practice Saturday, but with Montgomery’s status for Week 1 up in the air, do the Bears still need a veteran backup here? C.J. Prosise, formerly of the Seattle Seahawks, worked out at Halas Hall this month but wasn’t signed. It feels like the Bears might just roll with Patterson and this group until Montgomery is back.

4/12

On the team: Allen Robinson, Anthony Miller, Ted Ginn Jr., Darnell Mooney, Riley Ridley, Javon Wims
Practice squad (1): Reggie Davis

Ridley has come on strong as of late – especially with Allen Robinson out – and Wims has had a solid camp to date. I think Wims is able to stick on the roster, but just barely, to avoid exposing him to waivers on cut-down weekend. He’s played well enough to earn a spot.

 

5/12

On the team: Jimmy Graham, Cole Kmet, Demetrius Harris, J.P. Holtz, Eric Saubert
Practice squad (1): Jesper Horsted

For all the jokes about the Bears having a billion tight ends on their roster in May, the Bears have six – and every one of them earned a place at Halas Hall after cut-down weekend. No offensive position group has been more impressive during training camp than these guys. 

 

6/12

On the team: Charles Leno Jr., James Daniels, Cody Whitehair, Germain Ifedi, Bobby Massie, Rashaad Coward, Alex Bars, Jason Spriggs
Practice squad (3): Arlington Hambright, Lachavious Simmons, Corey Levin

Matt Nagy said he values versatility in his offensive linemen, and Coward and Bars both fit that mold in being able to play guard and tackle. Spriggs suffered a knee injury during practice this month and could be on the bubble depending on his outlook, especially if the Bears want a backup center (like Levin) whose presence would mean Daniels wouldn’t have to change positions if something were to happen to Whitehair. For now, though, Spriggs stays on the 53.

 

7/12

On the team: Akiem Hicks, Bilal Nichols, Roy Robertson-Harris, Brent Urban, John Jenkins, Abdullah Anderson
Practice squad: None

Anderson barely squeezes in here thanks to some uncertainty at the bottom of the cornerback depth chart (more on that later). The Bears don’t sound concerned about Hicks, and he’s a guy who doesn’t really need that much practice to be ready for the season, but we’ll keep a close watch on his availability this week at Halas Hall.

8/12

On the team: Khalil Mack, Robert Quinn, Barkevious Mingo, Isaiah Irving, Trevis Gipson
Practice squad (2): James Vaughters, Ledarius Mack

Mingo and Irving are big special teams contributors, and while Gipson may not be quite ready yet he has a spot as a 2020 fifth-round pick. It was good to see Quinn not only participate in team drills Saturday, but look good doing so. 

9/12

On the team: Danny Trevathan, Roquan Smith, Joel Iyiegbuniwe, Josh Woods
Practice squad (2): Keandre Jones, Rashad Smith

The Bears worked out veteran Alec Ogletree, among other inside linebackers, at Halas Hall last week. Depth here is a concern, though it was encouraging to see Josh Woods – who’s been nursing a groin injury – back in uniform on Saturday. It wouldn't be surprising if the Bears added someone from outside the organization to this room in the next week. 

10/12

On the team: Kyle Fuller, Buster Skrine, Jaylon Johnson, Kindle Vildor, Kevin Toliver II
Practice squad (3): Duke Shelley, Xavier Crawford, Stephen Denmark

The five guys listed above are all safe for the roster – Toliver included, given Jaylon Johnson’s dearth of work during training camp (Johnson, after Saturday’s practice, did tweet that he’s been cleared). The Bears do have some flexibility in case Johnson isn’t ready for Week 1, though, between Skrine, Vildor and Toliver. Shelley is right there on the bubble but falls on the wrong side of it here. Fuller, by the way, has had a tremendous camp. 

11/12

On the team: Eddie Jackson, Deon Bush, Tashaun Gipson, DeAndre Houston-Carson, Sherrick McManis
Practice squad (1): Marqui Christian

Gipson missed, that we know of, Wednesday and Saturday’s practices, and Nagy said Wednesday he’s dealing with a lower back injury that’s “nothing major.” Bush, meanwhile, has positioned himself as the Bears’ Week 1 starter. Gipson has $550,000 in guaranteed money on his contract – not a ton, but also not insignificant – so even though he signed for cheap he should be on the roster, even if he’s not ready for Week 1.

12/12

On the team: Eddy Pineiro (PK), Pat O’Donnell (P), Patrick Scales (LS)
Practice squad (1): Cairo Santos (PK)

I’m not ready to put Santos on the active roster just yet, given how Nagy talked about Pineiro over the last week as he’s dealt with a groin injury (it sounds like he’s still the Bears’ No. 1 option). Practices are not fully open to the media this week, so we won’t know if Pineiro is able to kick in the coming days. But we will know if he’s healthy or not come cuts by if he actually makes the 53-man roster or gets waived.

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