The Chicago Bears officially trimmed the roster down to 53 players. While the majority of the players were expected to make the team, there are always a few surprises at the bottom of the roster. Which players on the Bears' current roster may not have deserved to make it?
3. Dominique Robinson
The Chicago Bears are unwilling to give up on their former draft pick. The former fifth-round pick is entering his third season with the team and he has made the roster in all three years. Over the first two years, it was expected, this year, it was not.
Robinson was labeled a project coming out of Miami (OH) because he played receiver during his time at college as well. Still, that was acceptable in his first season, in year two, he showed no progress.
If there were any signs of growth, he could stay, but his inconsistency extended into this preseason as well. Robinson was one of the worst rushers in preseason. He was promptly beat out by Austin Booker and Daniel Hardy was much better.
Hardy made the team, but the Bears kept six edge rushers. Teams will keep four and usually five edge rushers, but six is excessive. There is no way all six will be active on game days.
The Bears are trusting Robinson, who has shown nothing, and giving him a roster spot over someone like Micah Baskerville, who could be a core special teams player. They could have cut ties.
2. Velus Jones Jr.
Velus Jones was a highly-debated player this offseason. Like Robinson, he has shown very little in his first two seasons. A move to running back during the preseason was thought to be a last-ditch attempt for the Bears to salvage value. Still, he was raw at running back and was working behind Ian Wheeler, who was placed on IR due to a torn ACL.
Jones made the team as a kick returner. However, in one of his few chances this offseason, he muffed a kick return. He still has not lived up to that hype, and you have to wonder if he ever will.
Still, the Bears did not have too many other options. As noted, Wheeler was cut, but they do not need a fifth back. Both Dante Pettis and Nsimba Webster ended up on the IR, ending their seasons. Both were return options and both were the reason Jones moved to running back. If either were healthy, Jones may not have made the roster. Now, he makes it almost solely off of his kick return ability.
1. Doug Kramer
About three weeks ago, almost nobody had Doug Kramer making the roster.
This year, he not only survived training camp and the preseason healthy, but he also survived some competition. First, Jerome Carvin was working ahead of Kramer in the first two preseason games. Kramer moved ahead of him in the past two weeks and beat him for a spot.
More than that, the injury to Ryan Bates opened this door. Bates went from starting center to backup center, to not practicing and unlikely to play in week one. He avoided the IR for now, but Kramer is making the team, which shows that the Bears wanted a competent week one backup center, and Bates cannot be that.