Which practice squad players have the best chance at making an impact for the Chicago Bears this year?
The Chicago Bears have officially announced their practice squad. Having an extended practice squad made it easy for the Bears to retain the majority of the players that they wanted to. With 15 practice squad players coming from the 80-man roster, the Bears were able to retain 68 of their 80 players from training camp.
With the added practice squad members and softened rules about moving players on and off of the roster due to COVID-19, it is unlikely that this is the last we hear from some of these players.
Who are the practice squad players that we are most likely to be hearing from in 2020? We will rank the entire practice squad based on their potential 2020 impact.
16. Rodney Adams, WR
The Chicago Bears signed Adams on August 20th, after he was let go by the Indianapolis Colts earlier this summer. Adams has been in the NFL since 2017 and has been active for one NFL game in that span. He has some speed, but would not be on the practice squad if they did not have extra spots this year.
15. Reggie Davis, WR
Davis has at the very least been with the Chicago Bears longer than Rodney Adams. He spent the entire offseason in Chicago, but like Adams, he has been in the NFL since 2017 and has not started an NFL game. In fact, he has been a lifelong practice squad member through his NFL career.
The Browns, Falcons, Eagles, and Cowboys have all moved on from Davis, who is essentially eight on the depth chart in the wide receiver pecking order.
14. Thomas Ives, WR
Thomas Ives is more of a project, while the other two receivers below him are veterans with limited upside. Ives stands at 6’4″, something that automatically draws interest. He also was signed as a UDFA by the Bears last year and has now stuck around for his second straight season on the practice squad.
This shows development, but he also is still a little further away from the roster than others. The Bears keeping six wide receivers certainly pushes the depth receivers down the immediate impact list.
13. Xavier Crawford, CB
Crawford is an outside cornerback, but he profiles as a slot cornerback. Coming from Central Michigan, he just does not have the size to hang with bigger receivers. The Houston Texans let him go, but he has been on the Bears practice squad since last year.
Now, he will spend his second season on the practice squad. With Kevin Toliver out and moving on the Denver, the Bears cornerback depth does have some questions. Crawford would be next in line to get a call up if anything were to happen to slot corners Duke Shelley or Buster Skrine. There is not a long pecking order, but there is still a lot that would have to happen for him to be an impact performer.