4 surprise roster cuts the Chicago Bears might make next week

Chicago Bears Surprise Roster Cut: DeMarquis Gates, LB

We tend to fall in love with roster guys who are on the backend of positional groups. We see how excited fans get when guys like Ryan Nall make their NFL debut despite being below-average talent. DeMarquis Gates looks to be one of those guys.

I gave him props after his performance vs the Seattle Seahawks last week. Gates finished with five tackles and looked to be flying all over the field. Even the backend roster guys look to have bought into Matt Eberflus’ HITS principle. He finished with five tackles (4 solos) and showed plenty of flashes for fans to think he deserves to make the team. The problem is that Roquan Smith is now back in the fold and I don’t see Gates supplanting any of the linebackers ahead of him on the depth chart.

When the linebacker position is likely to only have four to five players on this roster, someone is going to be left out. Roquan Smith is a lock, along with Nicholas Morrow. Matt Adams also seems like a lock to make the team. If the team keeps four, then one of Joe Thomas or Jack Sanborn likely takes that spot. If the team keeps five, then they both stay. Once again, that doesn’t leave a spot open for Gates and I think that will surprise some fans after his preseason performances.