Chicago Bears Roster Moves – Week 11

The Bears made a few other moves to bolster the offense including activating WR Marquess Wilson from the physically unable to perform list and signing QB Josh Woodrum to the practice squad. The Bears didn’t have a development quarterback on the roster unless you considered the 26-year-old Matt Barkley one, but they might now in Woodrum, a rookie out of Liberty college.

Woodrum has NFL size at 6’3, 231 pounds and enough arm strength to make all the necessary throws. While he went undrafted coming out of Liberty this year, plenty of sites had him graded as a late day three pick. In addition to his size and arm strength, Woodrum also handles pressure well with good feet in the pocket and the toughness to take hits in order to make the right pass.

While there are some legit NFL traits there, Woodrum has some significant question marks as well. His mechanics are messy, including an odd, downward-plane throwing motion that results in too many balls bounced in front of receivers. Woodrum also struggled to progress through reads in college, despite starting for four years. Lastly, his accuracy and timing are below average.

If Woodrum’s first or second read is open, he can get them the ball on target and with some serious zip on it. It’s when his first few reads are taken away and Woodrum has to improvise that his flaws start to manifest. With a little development time, Woodrum could become a viable NFL QB, though probably a backup.

While most of the Bears roster moves this week were on the offensive side of the ball, they did make one addition to the defense by signing journeyman DT C.J. Wilson. In his six-year career, Wilson has been on four NFL teams, including the Bears earlier this season.

The loss of DT Will Sutton to injured reserve this week and the uncertainty about Eddie Goldman’s availability forced the Bears to add some depth on the d-line. Despite bouncing around the league, Wilson has been productive when given a chance to play with 111 tackles, 6.5 sacks, and 15 tackles for loss. He should be able to hold his own in the middle of a recently dominant Bears front seven.

Hopefully, some of the young players added this week will pan out for the Bears and the additions of Marquess and C.J. Wilson to the active roster will help fill some of the void left by the loss of Alshon Jeffery, Will Sutton, and possibly Eddie Goldman this week. It can’t get any worse than last week, right?