Chicago Bears: Why Adam Shaheen should have been the first cut

Adam Shaheen should have been the Chicago Bears first cut before camp

The Chicago Bears are in the process of cutting players prior to the start of training camp next Tuesday. The team had 90 players on the roster and needs to cut down to 80 in less than a week. The first cut was made yesterday when the team announced the release of Ben Braunecker. Ryan Pace made the right position to be the first cut, but not the right player. Adam Shaheen should have been the first guy to go.

I know what you are thinking. “Who cares, they were both going to cut before the start of the season anyway.” Although that is probably true, Ryan Pace should have made Shaheen the first cut for a couple of reasons.

Reasons the Chicago Bears need to cut Adam Shaheen

The first reason is that it would have been a solid public relations move. Many from the fanbase have either turned their backs on Pace as the Chicago Bears general manager or are at least questioning his ability to make the right decision consistently. The thing is, cutting Shaheen would have likely made plenty of the fanbase happy. He has been considered a bust by most of the same fanbase. This is why there is absolutely no way he makes the final roster.

That said, Pace should not worry about making them happy with every move he makes. Winning a Super Bowl will change everyone’s minds anyway. Even if Pace thinks he’s making the right decision, the second reason explains otherwise. Adam Shaheen is not good enough to make the final roster, and even though Braunecker offers nothing as a tight end, he has plenty of special teams experience.

Over his three year career, Shaheen played 36 percent of the special team snaps in his rookie year but only nine percent last year. Braunecker on the other hand played 44 percent of the special team’s snaps last season. In his three other seasons, Braunecker played 56, 35 and 49 percent. If anyone could have made a difference in 2020, it could have been him, not Shaheen.

None of this will matter in a few weeks to a month. Both tight ends were going to be released from the team before the final roster anyway. Jimmy Graham, Demetrius Harris and Cole Kmet will be the top three tight ends on the depth chart. Graham is going to be the “U” tight end and Harris will be the “Y” tight end. Kmet will be Harris’ backup but will likely learn both positions at some point in his career.

Shaheen is also a “Y” tight end and will not be kept before a backup “U”. Instead, it is more likely that J.P. Holtz, Jesper Horsted or Eric Saubert will back up Graham. This has to be a sign that Shaheen will also be gone soon. Maybe we will get lucky and he winds up the second player to be cut from the roster in 2020.