Chicago Bears Release LB Merrell, Sign WR Umodu
The Chicago Bears continued to fine-tune the bottom of their roster today by releasing OLB Jamil Merrell and signing WR Ify Umodu. Despite not having much experience at the position, the Bears are deep at OLB with eight players competing for snaps before Merrell’s release. He was signed to the practice squad last year as an undrafted free agent out of Rutgers but never saw any NFL snaps with the Bears.
Here is my preview of Merrell’s role with the Bears this season from my OLB position preview:
"Was productive as a 3-4 DE his junior year with 5.5 sacks in a run-stopping role, but moved to OLB as a senior and eventually lost his starting job. Merrill has an explosive burst off the ball, uses his hands well to disengage from blockers, and has good closing speed. What Merrill lacks is size (6’3 | 255) to play DE and the speed (4.83) to play OLB at the NFL level. His speed could play if he can show good enough instincts at OLB, but Merrill is a long shot to be anything more than a practice squad body for the Bears this year."
The Bears replaced Merrell on the roster with WR Ify Umodu from Northern Arizona, who was invited to the Bears rookie mini-camp last month. The Bears were also one of only 8 teams at Umodo’s pro day so they have had their eye on him for awhile. Umodu has ideal size for an NFL receiver (6’3 | 215), average speed (4.64), soft hands and reportedly is a decent route runner. The jump from the Big Sky conference to the NFL is massive and it will take Umodu time to adjust to playing against NFL corners, but the potential is there. The NAU Lumberjacks played in a run first offense, but Umodu led the team in catches (47), receiving yards (692), and TDs (5). He will probably have to make his mark on special teams to have a shot at this year’s roster, but Umodu is an intriguing developmental prospect with significantly more upside than the player he replaced on the roster.