All of the talk throughout the summer will be about Justin Fields, Tremaine Edmunds, D.J. Moore, and Darnell Wright. However, while the Chicago Bears season will come down to those big names, the players who have jobs on the line in training camp are a bit further down the depth chart.
They are not discussed as much, but these are the players right on the edge of the 53-man roster. A good week could push them onto the roster. Which players need it the most?
5. Will Kindle Vildor make the Chicago Bears 53-man roster
When the Chicago Bears drafted Tyrique Stevenson, we all knew that it was on. The team started Kindle Vildor last season on the outside, but he struggled at times, and they knew that they had to upgrade which is why they went out and made a second-round pick.
However, when the Chicago Bears drafted Terrell Smith in the fifth round, that is when Kindle Vildor went from being a potential starter to potentially losing his roster spot altogether, the reality is that the top two cornerbacks on the outside will be Stevenson and Jaylon Johnson. Meanwhile, the backup on the outside will be Terell Smith, then when you look at the slot cornerbacks, you would have Kyler Gordon starting, and Josh Blackwell would be the backup.
So when you count three start starting options on the outside, and there are two slide options on the inside, you have five players who may be ahead of Kindle Vildor on the Chicago Bears cornerback depth chart. This is going to be an issue for Vildor to make the roster. The Chicago Bears could certainly keep six cornerbacks, but at that point, the competition comes down to Vildor against other positions and not necessarily against other cornerbacks.
Special teams will come into consideration here so this is going to be a major summer for Kindle Vildor he's going to have to prove himself in the preseason, and he's going to have to earn a roster spot in ways that he did not have to in previous seasons.
4. DeMarquis Gates is getting closer to the Chicago Bears roster
If you remember last season, you remember Demarcus Gates was lighting things up in the preseason and in training camp. He came from the XFL and was one of the best players in the XFL when the league was going on.
Then, he came to the Chicago Bears training camp and kept that momentum rolling. However, the shift-up was obviously a transition, and he was playing in the second half of a lot of preseason games.
So, the team opted to keep him on the practice squad rather than stick him on the active roster. Still, after weeks on the practice squad, the team did call him up late into the season. It was a lost season, and most of his play was on special teams, but Gates was able to see what it was like to make an NFL roster.
Now, he is entering his second season with the Chicago Bears. He still has an uphill climb to make the roster, and he is going to fight for his life to earn that spot. However, things did just get easier because the team had just released Sterling Weatherford.
Weatherford was released by another team at the end of the summer last year, and he made the roster over Demarcus Gates. The team kept six linebackers last season for the majority of the year.
When you count it out there are four of these choices: Tremaine Edmunds, TJ Edwards, Jack Sanborn, and Noah Sewell.
You could argue that Dylan Cole is the fifth option mainly because he is a better special teams player. His addition in free agency may be why the team got rid of Weatherford to begin with. So there are five linebackers ahead of Gates right now. He could make the roster as the sixth linebacker if he wanted to; however, it will take a strong summer and a lot of plays on special teams and defense to make that happen. This is another situation where his six-linebacker spot will be compared to six wide receivers, six cornerbacks, and other positions rather than comparing him to guys like Sewell and Sanborn.
3. Does Doug Kramer bring enough to the Chicago Bears to make the cut?
The Chicago Bears drafted Doug Kramer last season, but it was a lost season, all things considered. He was injured about two or three plays into his career and tried to gut it out but failed to in the preseason.
Kramer struggled in that game and ended up on the season-ending IR. Now he's back in year two, and his roster status is up in the air. He's going to battle for his roster life if he wants to have a chance to make it this season.
If he does not make it this season, it's hard to see if the momentum will carry him into making it for another season. When you look at the Chicago Bears depth chart, You see that Cody Whitehair is the starting center, and Lucas Patrick is the clear backup behind him, but then there is a question about the third center.
Still, the issue is that not many teams would carry a third Center. Dieter Eiselen has a chance to make the roster as a third center, but he also has a chance to make it because of his guard versatility. Doug Kramer does not have that guard versatility, so it is going to be an uphill battle for him.
Still, between Whitehair and Lucas Patrick, they have two guys with a serious history of injuries and two guys who are not established as centers yet if Doug Kramer can make a serious run this off-season, he could try to make up the roster as the second center or he could show enough versatility.
2. Has Alex Leatherwood made any progress?
Alex Leatherwood has a lot to prove if he wants to make the Chicago Bears roster. He was a bust with the Oakland Raiders and found his way with the Chicago because not many other teams wanted to take a chance. Early on in his run with Chicago, the team found out why.
They gave him about ten snaps with the Philadelphia Eagles, he gave up about four pressures, and he was benched immediately. He never got to see the field again. It's clear that the Chicago Bears don't trust him, but it's also clear that the Chicago Bears do not have much depth at the tackle position.
Larry Borom appears to be the backup at left and right tackle, so the question is, should the team have a fourth tackle, or will they just stick with three? With the issues of the Chicago Bears, it would not be surprising for them to elect for the extra depth. Still, this is another position where the team could go thin here to go heavy at another spot.
1. Should Chase Allen make the Chicago Bears roster?
Chase Allen has a serious chance to make the Chicago Bears roster. However, he has just as good of a chance to get cut. He is right on that edge. Allen was a UDFA last year, but made the practice squad, and got his name called for the active roster a few times. That is a nice step, but is it enough to make the roster?
The big thing that Allen has going for him is that the tight end room is very thin. He is seeing Cole Kmet and Robert Tonyan ahead of him. You can make a strong case that Jake Tonges is ahead of him as well, but still Allen is competing for the third tight end spot. If he wins the third tight end spot, he is making the roster. If he does not, he could still make it as the fourth tight end. However, his odds just went down significantly.