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Release of Omar Bolden Should Give Mariani, Thompson Good Chance at Making Chicago Bears 53-Man Roster

By Clyde A. Speller

May 25, 2016; Lake Forest, IL, USA; Chicago Bears wide receiver Marc Mariani (80) during the OTA practice at Halas Hall. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
May 25, 2016; Lake Forest, IL, USA; Chicago Bears wide receiver Marc Mariani (80) during the OTA practice at Halas Hall. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports /
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With training camp less than a week away, the Chicago Bears are still making roster moves. On Friday, general manager Ryan Pace decided to cut ties with veteran safety Omar Bolden. This cut comes somewhat as a surprise, considering that Bolden just joined the organization on March 31. In addition, Bolden is one of the John Fox’s guys from his days in Denver.

Bolden probably wasn’t going to make a splash on the defensive side of the ball, but he most certainly would have made an impact on special teams. While with the Broncos, Bolden averaged 24.7 yards per kick return, and on five punt returns had an average of 24.6, which included a punt return for a touchdown. With Bolden now out of the picture, this leaves a better opportunity for a few players to make the opening-day roster for 2016.

Marc Mariani and Deonte Thompson already has the deck stacked against them when it comes to making the team as major contributors as wide receivers. Even with the injury to Marquess Wilson suffered during minicamp, fellow receivers Alshon Jeffery, Kevin White, Eddie Royal, Josh Bellamy, Cameron Meredith, and rookie Daniel Braverman make up a deep depth chart, and Mariani and Thompson should seize the opportunity of being the primary return men to better their chances at making this team.

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Having given Bolden his walking papers, the Bears now have 89 players currently on their roster—leaving one vacancy going into training camp. Seeing how Chicago is scampering around to solidify their offensive line after the release of Matt Slauson and the unexpected retirement of Manny Ramirez, don’t be surprised if they add another offensive lineman. Yes, they did sign guard Amini Silatolu a few days ago, but the former Carolina Panther’s health is a red flag. Silatolu has suffered two torn ACLs in his four years in the NFL, and has played in only 34 games during that span. Furthermore, the jury is still out on second-year center Hroniss Grasu, and no one knows just how rookie Cody Whitehair will pan out.

I don’t think the Bears will bring in another return specialist to fill that final spot, so Mariani and Thompson shouldn’t have to worry about that. They both have enough to worry about.

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