Chicago Bears: Adam Shaheen to miss first half of 2018

The Chicago Bears placed Adam Shaheen on the injured reserve. He can return but will be out for at least the first eight weeks of the regular season.

When the Chicago Bears announced their roster, there was an obvious question in that there were 54 players. Khalil Mack was on the roster but was placed on the Did Not Report list due to the trade. This enabled the Chicago Bears to carry their 53 players and put Adam Shaheen on the IR.

This is very important because if Shaheen were placed on  IR before the roster was announced, he would have to miss the entire season. By making the 53-man roster first, he has the designation to return after eight weeks.

This enabled the Chicago Bears to keep the 52 men that they had planned to join Khalil Mack in Week One, and did not have to worry about Shaheen, or losing any of those players through waivers.

This is what resulted in seeing the Chicago Bears go through waiver process without claiming a single player. Are they done moving? Who knows. But, the fact is that they like this roster right now.

The loss of Shaheen hurts but is not devastating. The Bears carried four other tight ends knowing that this was going to happen. Daniel Brown and Ben Braunecker will have to step into more significant roles, but Dion Sims was going to be the third tight end anyway.

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Matt Nagy has stressed that he plans to use three tight ends as often as he can. This means Dion Sims will get a considerable boost in snaps as the number two man, but it also means that Brown and Braunecker need to hold down their roles for the first half of the season.

Braunecker can add more in the blocking game, while Brown can add more in the passing game. When mixing and matching the two with Sims and Trey Burton, it should not be a huge issue.

However, Shaheen is an upgrade as a blocker and pass catcher all wrapped into one. With the trade of Khalil Mack, the Chicago Bears have playoffs on their mind. By placing Shaheen on the IR, they feel as though they can navigate the time with him to ease him back in. They want him to be at 100% and ready to join a team in the midst of a playoff hunt.

Here is to hoping for a speedy recovery and an immediate return for Adam Shaheen.