Chicago Bears Make Six Roster Cuts
Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports
With the deadline to trim the roster to 53 players looming Saturday afternoon, the Chicago Bears got a head start on their final cuts today by releasing six players. I’ve listed them all below with my thoughts on each player.
ILB Mason Foster – What? I thought Foster was arguably the Bears best ILB during the preseason and that he may have been pushing Shea McClellin for the starting gig, but apparently I was way off! Foster was one of the best players on the field in the 2nd half of both the Colts and Browns games, but that wasn’t enough for Bears coaches to keep Foster and his affordable $825k salary around. I’m bummed, Foster was one of my favorite off-season signings and I thought he showed a lot of potential during the preseason. He clearly outplayed Jon Bostic, but maybe the coaching staff was impressed enough with the strong play of undrafted rookies John Timu or Jon Anderson to give one of them a spot on the final 53 over a known commodity like Foster.
TE Dante Rosario – I was pretty upset about the release of Foster, but cutting Rosario quickly cheered me up. Not that I’m happy about anyone else’s misfortune, but after Rosario’s lackluster Bears career and lethargic preseason performance I didn’t think he deserved a spot on the final roster. He had a couple drops this preseason and more importantly missed some key blocks in the running game. If Rosario isn’t blocking well, then why keep him around? The Bears cut Rosario twice last year and brought him back both times, so there is obviously a chance his time as a Bear isn’t done.
TE Bear Pascoe – I thought the release of Rosario pretty much ensured that Pascoe had made the team, but I guess not. Most analysts thought the Bears would keep four TEs since they don’t have a fullback and maybe they still will, but I figured the 4th TE spot was between Rosario and Pascoe. With both of them gone, it looks like the Bears will roll into the 2015 season with Martellus Bennett, Zach Miller, recently acquired Khari Lee, and maybe a TE not yet on the roster.