Ranking Chicago Bears Practice Squad Players
12. Badara Traore, OT
Speaking of a project player making the practice squad, Badara Traore is a complete unknown. Traore dominates JUCO and found himself transferring to LSU. However, he started just 5 games at LSU and was mostly a depth player in his two seasons there.
Traore stands at 6’7″ and has power, and size that is unmatched. However, he is a complete unknown and could not start at an SEC level, let alone in the NFL. The Bears are betting on his traits, but that is going to take some time to develop.
Still, adding him to the practice squad can speak to his upside, and that they are happy with how he has caught on this summer. Still, even an injury to Bobby Massie and Charles Leno will keep Traore out of the lineup.
11. LaCale London, EDGE
London is a rookie UDFA from Western Illinois. At 280 pounds, he is a bit of a tweener. At his upside, he would compare favorably to a player such as Brent Urban, or Mario Edwards. Of course, those two have roles in the Bears defense, and the Bears would love for the development of London to allow them to move on from the higher price veterans.
London does have a way to go to beat those names out, but making the practice squad is a nice first step in what had to a complicated summer. Fans wanted Ledarius Mack to be the depth edge defender, but the ability for London to move up and down the defensive line was what was able to push him ahead.
10. Sam Mustipher, C
With Harry Hiestand leaving, there was a question as to whether Mustipher would stay on the roster. We saw in Kevin Toliver heading to Denver that players stick with coaches they like, and without Hiestand, Mustipher did not have someone in his corner.
Still, what helped him was being a center with experience under Matt Nagy. The Bears do not have much depth at center, and could not let one with an upside such as Mustipher walk away. Beyond that, it is not like Hiestand is employed elsewhere to pull him away.
Still, if anything happens to Cody Whitehair, Mustipher will be on the roster very quickly.
9. Rashad Smith, LB
Smith reportedly had a great camp, and some beat reporters thought he could have made a roster push. Perhaps with a preseason, the UDFA from Florida Atlantic would have been able to stick around. Still, he turned enough heads to get himself on the practice squad.
With Joel Iyiegbuniwe and Josh Woods as the only depth at linebacker, he could see himself in a legitimate backup role faster than some may think. Similarly to Woods, he is a bit undersized but relies on being quick and flying all over the field.