The Bears were busy this weekend following their 20-17 win over the New York Giants, cutting their roster down in advance of Monday’s 3PM deadline. There weren’t any huge surprises as a couple of big name guys will nurse injuries and some bottom of the roster guys were waived.
Least surprising of all, the Bears placed rookie safety Brandon Hardin on Injured Reserve, ending his rookie season before it began. Hardin suffered a pretty serious neck injury in the Bears’ win over the Redskins last week and had to be carted off the field on a backboard. Hardin missed his senior season at Oregon State following a shoulder injury. When he attempts to come back in 2013, it will be his first action since 2010.
Another player nursing a serious injury will be wide receiver Johnny Knox, who was placed on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list. That ensures that he will miss at least the first six weeks of the season. The Bears will have a three week window to activate Knox, who’s recovering from spinal fusion surgery after a serious injury on December 18, 2011 vs the Seahawks, after Week 6. The smart money is that Knox goes on IR at that point, but give the Bears credit for giving the kid a shot to come back this season. It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out with the Bears and Knox, whose contract expires after this season.
Other players asked to hand in their iPad were veteran defensive tackle John McCargo, defensive ends Thaddeus Gibson and Derek Walker, safety Trevor Coston, linebacker KC Asiodu, wide receivers Terriun Crump and Chris Summers and quarterback Matt Blanchard. This waived/injured offensive lineman Nick Pieschel and linebacker Adrian Cole.
As of this writing on Sunday night, the Bears’ roster stands at 76, so there will be a few youngsters getting a rough night’s sleep as one more player must be cut before Monday’s deadline of 75 players. The Bears will have to trim the roster to 53 by Friday and can form their 8-man practice squad on September 1st.