Chicago Bears Make First Round of Cuts
Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports
The Chicago Bears need to get their roster down to 75 players by 4 PM (EST) on Tuesday, but they got most of the work done over the last two days. The release of two-time Pro Bowl corner Tim Jennings and veteran running back Daniel Thomas were announced yesterday and then today the Bears followed that up with 10 more cuts to bring their roster to 76 players. That leaves one more player to be released and the delay could mean that the Bears are working on a trade before tomorrow’s deadline. Or they could just be having a hard time deciding who they want to let go. We’ll know more tomorrow I guess.
In the meantime here is a list of players the Bears cut:
CB Al Louis-Jean – This was the biggest surprise on the list in my opinion. Louis-Jean has great size for a corner (6’1) and showed flashes of talent last season despite being one of the youngest players in the league (20). With the release of Jennings and Louis-Jean, the Bears must be pretty confident in young corners like Terrance Mitchell and Jacoby Glenn.
DE Olsen Pierre – I thought Pierre had a chance due to the Bears lack of depth on the D-line and Pierre’s potential as a run stopping end. After a decent performance against the Dolphins in week 1, Pierre played only 4 snaps vs the Colts, and then looked over-matched in limited game 3 snaps.
S Malcolm Bronson – Spent the last two seasons on the Chiefs and Bears practice squads, therefore had no practice squad eligibility left and the Bears probably didn’t see Bronson as having a chance to make the final 53-man roster. Any cuts at safety are a surprise to me considering how bad Rolle and Vereen have looked so far.
TE Chris Pantale – Young inline tight end who has struggled to stay healthy since joining the league in 2013. Pantale didn’t see the field for the Bears in the preseason.
WR Levi Norwood – Undrafted rookie free agent out of Baylor with explosive speed and some kick return ability. The emergence of Marc Mariani and Senorise Perry as returners may have speed up Norwood’s release.
The Bears also released undrafted rookie free agents LS Rick Lovato and T Cameron Jefferson, recent additions to the roster WR Jeremy Kelley and TE Kevin Greene, and reached an injury settlement with WR John Chiles.
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