Could this former third-round draft pick make the Chicago Bears 53-man roster?
When we look at the defensive side of the Chicago Bears' roster, there is a clog at the defensive end position. The problem is, no one truly stands out. Trevis Gipson is coming off a disappointing season after a breakout year as a rotational player in 2021. Dominque Robinson looked like the raw rookie he was last year and will likely have growing pains again this season. Ryan Poles added the likes of DeMarcus Walker and Rasheem Green in free agency, but neither is a browbeater.
Counting on these players to dominate the 2023 season would be a mistake. Their lack of dominance leaves the door open for backend guys to also push for their spots. It is very early, but there is one name that kept being mentioned during OTAs and minicamp -- Terrell Lewis.
Here are just a few of the beat reporters mentioning his name last month.
Some notes from practice
— Courtney Cronin (@CourtneyRCronin) June 13, 2023
-Justin Fields threaded the needle down the sideline on a deep ball to Dante Pettis during 7/7. Pettis had a catch in 11/11, too.
-Up and down day for the 1st team offense in team periods. LB Terrell Lewis created pressure on back to back snaps in 11/11
First day of #Bears minicamp has wrapped up.
— Brad Biggs (@BradBiggs) June 13, 2023
If it was an open training camp practice, there would be buzz about Terrell Lewis, who the team picked up last December.
Lewis blew past RT Darnell Wright on 3 snaps in an end-of-half series, creating 2 sacks.
Terrell Lewis was drafted in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Rams. He played at Alabama and had the build of a first-round pass rusher, but was limited by injuries. In his final year with the Crimson Tide, he played in 10 games and finished with six sacks, 31 combined tackles and 11.5 tackles for loss. Some viewed him as a Day 2 pick, while others thought he'd fall to Day 3. The Rams obviously thought he was worth a Day 2 pick, but he didn't amount to enough.
In his rookie season, Lewis played in eight games but never started. He only played 124 snaps. He finished with only five combined tackles but did have two sacks, two tackles for loss and four pressures. In his second season, he started four games and played in 11. He saw about double the number of snaps and finished with three sacks, 22 combined tackles and four tackles for loss. He also had a forced fumble. It should be noted that three sacks would have tied Trevis Gipson's output last year.
Terrell Lewis played in the same amount of games last year and saw the same snap % as he did in 2021, but struggled and was waived in December. Before he was waived by the Rams, he had one sack, 13 combined tackles and an interception. In fact, it was the first interception of the 2022 NFL season. The Chicago Bears signed Terrell Lewis five days after being waived and placed him on the practice squad. He signed a one-year deal with the Bears this offseason worth just over $1 million dollars.
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Terrell Lewis has been an outside linebacker throughout his NFL career, which does not exactly fit the Chicago Bears defensive scheme. However, if Lewis continues to shine in training camp in a few weeks, you'd have to think he has the potential to knock off one of the backend guys for a final roster spot.