Chicago Bears 2023 roster ranking: No. 76 Micah Baskerville
We are going through every player on the Chicago Bears 90-man roster as we countdown the days until training camp. Our list is looking at which fringe players could make the Bears roster, and which players will impact games the most on Sundays.
Today we are onto number 76 on our list, Micah Baskerville.
Chicago Bears 2023 roster ranking: No. 76 Micah Baskerville
Micah Baskerville is a UDFA linebacker from LSU. It is not often that you see an LSU linebacker fall to the undrafted ranks, especially someone with about 2.5 years of starting experience, which Baskerville does have.
Still, he is a bit slower and undersized when compared to NFL standards, and the LSU defense has not been feared in the same way as the days of Devin White or Kwon Alexander. Still, we are talking about a player with 2,044 snaps as a linebacker in the SEC. He was one of the more prized UDFA players in this draft class.
The reason he is so low on the list is the position he plays relative to the strongest position on the Chicago Bears. The Bears went all-out on linebackers this off-season. They added Tremaine Edmunds, TJ Edwards, Dylan Cole, and Noah Sewell.
They already had Jack Sanborn and Sterling Weatherford coming back from last season as well. Even DeMarquis Gates is stuck on the practice squad after a strong preseason.
So, on the one hand, the depth chart is stacked against him, and it seems like a win would be making the practice squad. At the same time, Weatherford and Sanborn were UDFAs last year, and they stuck around. More than that, Gates was in the XFL before catching on with Chicago last year.
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So, the depth chart appears strong, but it also could just be that this Bears staff and front office scouts linebackers well and gets the most out of them. Baskerville could end up competing with Weatherford, but Weatherford has special teams over him big time. Sanborn started NFL games, so while it is possible for Baskerville to prove more this summer, we cannot predict it. This is what keeps him outside the top 75.