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84 Days Until Chicago Bears 2017 Season Kicks Off: Ben Braunecker Profile

By Bill Zimmerman

Nov 13, 2016; Tampa, FL, USA; Chicago Bears tight end Ben Braunecker (84) against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium. The Buccaneers won 36-10. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 13, 2016; Tampa, FL, USA; Chicago Bears tight end Ben Braunecker (84) against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium. The Buccaneers won 36-10. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Bear Goggles On Countdown to Kickoff series is now underway. With 84 days to go until the Bears season kicks off we will highlight the Bears player that is wearing number 84, tight end, Ben Braunecker.

Dec 24, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Washington Redskins defensive end Trent Murphy (93) and Chicago Bears tight end Ben Braunecker (84) in action during the game at Soldier Field. The Redskins defeat the Bears 41-21. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 24, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Washington Redskins defensive end Trent Murphy (93) and Chicago Bears tight end Ben Braunecker (84) in action during the game at Soldier Field. The Redskins defeat the Bears 41-21. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /

2016 Review

Ben Braunecker carved out a nice fan base for himself during OTAs. “Bronk” gained popularity due to his draft grade, and of course his highlights at Harvard. The media had a lot of fun with Braunecker’s high IQ and how he was a molecular biology major.

Braunecker struggled with health in training camp and never had much of an opportunity to prove himself worthy of a 53-man roster spot. Braunecker didn’t make the team out of training camp but was brought back to the practice squad.

Braunecker was eventually elevated to the 53-man roster, but his chances were limited. As the season progressed and the Bears injuries piled up, Braunecker saw the field more but only tallied four catches for 41 yards.

2017 Outlook

Bronk’s 2017 outlook isn’t great. The Bears made a commitment to tight end this offseason with the signing of Dion Sims and drafting Adam Shaheen. With Zach Miller a lock to make the roster, those are three tight ends that will start camp ahead of Braunecker. It’s also three tight ends that Braunecker has zero chance to jump by week one.

Besides those three, the Bears also have Daniel Brown on the roster which has made the Bears tight end position very crowded and a difficult one for Braunecker to navigate. The best case for Braunecker is probably for him to find himself on the practice squad for the second year in a row and hope that either Shaheen’s development is slow or Miller is injured (again).

If that happens, Braunecker can sit on the practice squad as the team’s fourth tight end and if the door opens up during the season due to whatever reason, he has a chance to be elevated to the 53-man roster and have another opportunity.

Future with the Bears

It’s hard to say that Braunecker’s future with the Bears is bright. He was a popular UDFA in 2016 and his peak popularity with the Bears may just be last year’s OTAs. Braunecker had an opportunity to make a splash last year and he didn’t separate himself.

Last season the Bears tight end situation was wide open, this year it looks far more established. Braunecker’s best chance is to stick this year on the practice squad and hope the Bears decide to move on from Zach Miller and he can stick in 2018 as Shaheen and Sims backup.

Being objective, that path is going to be a difficult one and a long shot. Braunecker has about a 50% chance to make the practice squad, a 49% chance to be released, and a 1% chance to make the active roster week one.

If Braunecker has an NFL future after the next 2 or 3 seasons, it will most likely be with another team. While plenty of Bears fans hope that Bronk has a future in Chicago, objectively, it’s hard to imagine a very bright future for Braunecker in the Windy City.

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