Countdown to Kickoff… 97 Days Until Chicago Bears Season Opener

Dec 30, 2012; Detroit, MI, USA; Chicago Bears linebacker J.T. Thomas (97) reacts to play against the Detroit Lions during 2nd Half of a game at Ford Field. Bear won 26-24. Mandatory Credit: Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports

I decided to do a countdown to the Chicago Bears season opener on September 8th versus the Cincinnati Bengals.  Thanks to one of my followers on Twitter @Beneiserle, I decided to combine the countdown with a roster preview of sorts.  

So today, we’re J.T. Thomas days away from the Chicago Bears season opener.  Who is J.T. Thomas, you ask?  Well, he’s the 2011 6th round linebacker/special teamer for the Beloved.  He redshirted his first year, being placed on IR with a bum hip.  Making his debut last season, Thomas was mostly a special teams contributor, where he had 5 tackles and even a forced fumble.

Thomas will have a tough time making the Bears 2013 roster.  With the turnover at linebacker and addition of veterans DJ Williams and James Anderson as well as drafting Jon Bostic and Khaseem Greene, Thomas will be vying with specialist Blake Costanzo to make the squad.

Other notable 97’s in recent Bears history include Mark Anderson, who had a terrific rookie season in 2006 before fading as a Bear and reviving his career with the Patriots, former first round bustout Michael Haynes, defensive tackle Mike “Pinky” Wells and my personal Bears 97, admitted tax cheat Chris Zorich.

If nothing else, Bears fans finally got their wish to see #97 move to linebacker.  Too bad it was the roster-fringe J.T. Thomas.