Bears roster begins to take shape

Oct 10, 2011; Detroit, MI, USA; Chicago Bears offensive tackle J

The Bears have until Saturday at 3PM CST to get down to 53 players from the 75 they were at after last night’s game; They don’t plan on waiting that long.

Before many people have had their first cup of coffee at work, the Bears brain trust has already been hard at work shaping the tail end of the roster.

Already gone

Per Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune; the Bears have already informed Josh Lenz WR and Brittan Golden WR that they will be waived. This move is not surprising since the Bears are fairly stacked at WR with Brandon Marshall, Alshon Jeffery, Earl Bennett, Marquess Wilson, Joe Anderson, and Eric Weems. Both Golden and Lenz have less than two years of NFL roster experience (Collectively they have 0 experience) which makes them both eligible for the practice squad.

Despite having 10 days to work out with the team and putting up respectable numbers against the Browns backup Jordan Palmer said goodbye to the Bears via twitter this morning. This probably means that Trestman feels confident enough to go into the season with only 2 QBs on the roster knowing that he can call up Palmer in a pinch if necessary and be able to see a reasonably decent level of QB play (let’s all collectively pray Jordan Palmer never gets that call).

Also per Brad Biggs; two years was just too long to be out of football for Brandon Hardin. Hardin was selected in the 3rd round in the 2012 NFL draft. He missed all of the 2011 season with an injury and then missed all of 2012 with an injury as well. Anyone who watched him play could see how rusty he was so this move is not really shocking. Hardin is eligible for the practice squad which could be a nice place for his to get his football legs back underneath him. Is it just me or do others find it refreshing to see a GM move on from his mistakes quickly rather than let them sit on the roster and fester for a few years? Hardin was the 3rd pick Phil Emery made as GM and that was only a year ago. Good for Emery for seeing this for what it was; a strike out.

And now for the news that so many of you Bear fans have been waiting for…

J’Marcus Webb has been informed that he will be waived.

Let that sink in for a moment.

As a coach, I was enamored with Webb’s size and talent. He seemed to have everything you want in an offensive lineman except that extra something. Some people call it a mean streak; some call it attitude; others (in this particular case) call it skill. J’Webb just didn’t have it, so after a 3 1/2 year experiment J’Webb Nation is no longer a Bear.

Local product Tom Nelson S has also been informed of his release. Nelson played well on special teams but not enough to break up the log jam of guys in the secondary to secure a spot.

Per Brad Biggs; reserve C/G Edwin Williams has been released. Williams didn’t play that bad, but he didn’t do anything to distinguish himself either. He has enough talent to catch on somewhere; just not Chicago.

This is just the beginning Bears fans. Knowing what I know about Head Coach Marc Trestman, he will make cuts early so the respective players will have a better opportunity to catch on with other teams.

Stay tuned for more news of roster moves as the day progresses. Check the comment section for our cut tracker.