Chicago Bears: 3 potential surprise roster cuts before the deadline

Chicago Bears Surprise Cut Candidate: Elijah Wilkinson

The Chicago Bears signed Elijah Wilkinson to a one-year deal this offseason. The move was made for him to be a backup who would compete for a starting spot. Wilkinson had started 26 games for Denver over his first four years in the NFL.

Ryan Pace and Matt Nagy knew they were going to overhaul the offensive line and Wilkinson had some experience that this young offensive line was going to need. Sam Mustipher looks to be the starting center, Cody Whitehair and James Daniels are considered seasoned veterans on this line now.

The Chicago Bears drafted who they hope to be the future left and right tackles in Teven Jenkins and Larry Borom. Jenkins back issues are not helping matters though and the team kicked youth out the window when they brought in six-time All-Pro left tackle, Jason Peters. Peters is 39 years old and closer to 40 as his birthday is in January. The move to bring in Peters also coincided with just how bad Elijah Wilkinson has looked going up against first and second-string defensive linemen.

Wilkinson may cost the Chicago Bears nearly $1 million this season and it does not look good from a business standpoint. It’s also another blemish on Ryan Pace’s career. However, we just saw the New England Patriots cut Cam Newton today. The move is costing the Patriots over $3 million in dead cap. If they can cut a player like Cam Newton, then the Chicago Bears should be able to move on from Wilkinson.