With about two weeks to go until roster cut-down days, we have tried to identify which players will be locked on for the Chicago Bears roster. There are always surprises, but we have 45 players that we strongly think will make the roster. So, that leaves eight spots where the surprises and drama will come in the final two weeks.
Who are the 15 players most likely to jump into those eight spots?
15. Kendall Williamson may need a year on the Chicago Bears practice squad
Kendall Williamson is a former seventh-round pick from Stanford. He was drafted, so the team has an interest in him, but it was so late that you could not view him much higher than a priority UDFA. So, it should not be a shock that with two weeks to go, he is probably on the outside of the roster looking in,
He is definitely behind the top three safeties, and the team will only keep four or five. The debate comes down to Adrian Colbert, A.J. Thomas, and Williamson. As of now, it is easy to list him as the third of those three on their roster status.
On the depth chart, he is behind them, and he was the last one in the field of those three. The eye test also showed who was better. Williamson looked a bit slow to react late in the preseason opener. Thomas and Colbert are not Pro Bowl-caliber players, but they know how to play in the NFL, and both can serve roles on special teams. Williamson is only getting mentioned because he is a rookie draft pick; it feels like he will not make the roster.
14. Can Greg Stroman make the Chicago Bears roster as a slot corner?
Greg Stroman is quietly moving up the depth chart and becoming someone that fans may want to keep an eye on. He had been injured through the majority of the 2019, 2020, and 2021 seasons, so it was hard for him to establish any reputation.
However, here he is, back and healthy. He got healthy in 2022 and stuck on the Chicago Bears practice squad. He played in week 18, so the team wanted to see what he had to offer, but at the same time, he is outside the roster and looking in.
He was listed ahead of Kindle Vildor on the depth chart, and he played before Vildor as well. It may be time to accept that Vildor is gone, but also that Stroman is rising.
Some of it has to do with injury. Josh Blackwell has been missing time, and he is the backup slot cornerback. Stroman has played both outside and slot, but this training camp the extra snaps opened in the slot, and he took them. He has only played the slot this preseason.
If Blackwell cannot get healthy, Stroman will make the roster as the backup slot. As of now, he is climbing up the list of bubble players.
13. Can Dylan Cole get healthy for the Chicago Bears
The last time we looked into roster locks, we had Dylan Cole listed as one. Now, things are not so sure. That is because he has missed two straight weeks with an injury. More than that was seeing the team make a move on Mykal Walker from the Atlanta Falcons.
Walker started last year for the Falcons and was a special teams asset in 2021. The Chicago Bears probably want him for what he did in 2021, which is the same reason that Cole was signed. Cole is not much of a defensive player, but he has made a long-term career on special teams.
The signing of Walker either signals that Cole will be out longer than expected or that the Chicago Bears are ready to give him competition when he gets back. Neither are great for Cole. The Bears can easily keep six linebackers, meaning both could make it, but with his health and the Bears needs elsewhere, that is not a lock, and that is why he ranks 13th on this list.
12. Adrian Colbert is pushing for a roster spot with the Chicago Bears
Adrian Colbert was a starter at safety for the 49ers back in 2017, and now he is competing to make the roster. He certainly could be listed a little higher, but at the same time, he has not shown quite enough to lock himself into that top eight.
It is clear that he is behind A.J. Thomas. Thomas played with Elijah Hicks on the second team, and Colbert did not get in until after Hicks left the game. Colbert also only played seven special teams snaps. We listed Colbert ahead of Kendall Williamson, but Williamson played 12 special teams snaps and was arguably better in that area.
Colbert was much better than the seventh-round rookie on the field. If they needed to call a safety to start, it would be Colbert. However, Williamson is younger and may start on special teams over Colbert. We give the edge to Williamson, but it is not enough to put either on the roster right now.
Both of them are bubble players. Williamson is pushing him from behind, but A.J. Thomas is also ahead of him as the fourth safety. Thomas also youth over Colbert, but he has enough experience that he could stick around. This puts Colbert in a tough spot where he has competition ahead, below, and at other positions, because the team may not keep a fifth safety at all.
11. Can Travis Bell make a push for the Chicago Bears roster?
Travis Bell has been a pleasant surprise in training camp. He finsihed his preseason debut with a sack, and lined up all over the defensive line.
When the Chicago Bears drafted Bell, the intentions may have been that one year on the practice squad would do him well. He comes from Kennesaw State and was not on the draft radar of many. However, Ryan Poles loves his character, and it was clear by the celebrations of his sack that the team likes him as well.
There is something about keeping the guy who works hard for everything around. He may be raw and developmental, but his upside may be immense, and risking him for the practcie squad could lead to another team taking a chance.
At the same time, he has loyalty to the Poles, and it is hard to see him playing much this season. He is climbing, but is outside the top 53.
10. Is Travis Homer falling down the Chicago Bears depth chart?
Travis Homer was pretty high on our list not that long ago. The preseason opener did not help him. First, he was listed below Trestan Ebner and definitely played behind Ebner. He was behind every back and finished the game when most of the practice squad and cut-down players were on the field. That is not great for his status.
What hurts more is that he hardly saw the field on special teams. Did he fall out of favor before getting the chance to catch on? When the Chicago Bears signed him, they did not know they would be drafting Roschon Johnson.
The role of Homer is designed for passing down work and special teams, and Johnson happens to do all of that, but better than Homer. Still, losing gout to Ebner has to hurt. It is fair that Ebner is in year two and may have taken that jump, but that may speak to Homer performing lower than their expectations. At this point, he needs to get on the field for special teams or make a big play in pass protection or the passing game to make this roster.
9. The Chicago Bears just added Logan Stenberg
The Chicago Bears just added Logan Stenberg, but here is at number nine, when the top eight players are going to make the roster. Stenberg was a former fourth-round pick by the Detroit Lions. He started last season, and while that did not go well, the team needs him as depth and not a starter.
Beyond that, he started the first two weeks, struggled, and then came back for two spot starts later in the season and played much better. So, there is potential, and the Bears are taking a swing.
The top five starters are locked in, and Lucas Patrick is the swing interior lineman, with Larry Borom backing up both tackles. So, the eighth spot is probably going to Ja'Tyre Carter, who started the preseason opener.
The question is whether the Chicago Bears keep nine linemen and if Stenberg is the ninth. Alex Leatherwood is in the mix, but the question with him is whether the team is over that experiment or not. If they are, you can easily make the case for Stenberg. Of course, he also has to play a snap for the Bears first, so we will see how that goes and take it from there.
8. Is Alex Leatherwood right on the Chicago Bears roster bubble?
The Chicago Bears will keep eight of these players, so it is perfect for Leatherwood to be number eight because he can be viewed in so many different ways. First, the experiment with him at tackle appears to be completely over.
Leatherwood took snaps only at left guard in the preseason, and reports are that this has been the same in practices. Still, even as a left guard, he is not a lock. As we noted with Stenberg, there are seven names for sure ahead of him, and you can say that Ja'Tyre Carter will make the roster over Leatherwood as well.
So, with Leatherwood, it may just come down to him against Stenberg. They claimed Stenberg and his NFL resume is about as strong as Leatherwood. That is why they both should be eight and nine on this list. One will be on, the other off, but even then, they could just go with neither and keep some names we talked about in the past slides. They are right in the middle, and the coming weeks will change everything.
7. Will Trestan Ebner make the Chicago Bears roster?
One of the winners from the preseason had to be Trestan Ebner. Khalil Herbert played all seven snaps with the starters, so he was the big winner. However, when P.J. Walker played, it was D'Onta Foreman for seven snaps, then Trestan Ebner for four, and Roschon Johnson for three.
This is a good development for Ebner. Even bigger was getting seven special teams snaps and playing on four phases. Ebner could even get work as a return man because he may end up with more overall value to the roster than Velus Jones. The Chicago Bears are definitely keeping Herbert, Foreman, and Johnson as their top three runners.
The fourth running back could be Ebner, Homer, or it could be neither. That would allow the team to keep an extra lineman, linebacker, or wide receiver. It will be interesting to see if either Ebner or Homer can lock down this job in the next two weeks. Right now, both of them are firmly on the bubble.
6. Velus Jones is not a roster lock with the Chicago Bears
A lot of people will see Velus Jones as a roster lock. He is a third-round pick, and he is only in his second NFL season. Should they give up already? The depth chart is saying yes.
There are five locks ahead of him at wide receiver. They added D.J. Moore, Chase Claypool, and Tyler Scott after drafting Jones, showing how much they wanted to push him down.
Then, there is Darnell Mooney, and even Equanimeous St. Brown is clearly a lock over Jones at this point. ESB played multiple special teams phases, got on the field with Justin Fields, and laid a block that extended the Khalil Herbert catch and run to a touchdown.
Jones brings less on offense, and he is not a multiple-phase special teams option. He fumbled another punt and may just lose that job to Tyler Scott. As we noted, he is hanging onto the ick return job by a thread. If Ebner can play offense and multiple phases on special teams, he could return kicks, too, so they do not waste a roster spot on Jones, who only can return kicks. There are players we listed below, Jones, on this list that have more value in multiple phases. Jones is losing his standing really quickly and needs a huge week to make things up.
5. Mykal Walker shot up the Chicago Bears depth chart
chanceMykal Walker joins Logan Stenberg as the two players who have been here less than a week but still have a strong chance to make the roster. We did not put Walker as a lock, but he has to have a strong chance after the Bears took a cahnce on him with a waiver claim. He started for Atlanta last year and was a special team asset in 2021.
The reality is that the Bears have to trust in Walker because their linebacker depth is getting thin. They have four locks with Tremaine Edmunds, TJ Edwards, Noah Sewell, and Jack Sanborn. However, the fifth spot is wide open.
Dylan Cole and DeMarquis Gates have not been healthy enough to take it, and now Walker may be a better option than either of them anyways.
The other factor is that Edmunds is missing time as well. So, after Sewell, Edwards, and Sanborn the depth drops off quick. The Bears already put a ton on the plate of rookie UDFA Micah Baskerville, nd Buddy Johnson played too many meaningull snaps in the preseason opener. The team needs to use those snaps on Mykal Walker, who should make the team as the fifth linebacker,
4. Jaylon Jones may have earned a roster spot with the Chicago Bears
While everyone thinks that a key interception, or a 60-yard rushing touchdown will be what makes the roster for the end of the roster players, more often than not it comes down to special teams. That is why Jaylon Jones is rated so high.
First, on defense, he got work over Kindle Vildor, which speaks to where he stands. Jones was behind Vildor last year, but he was a young and ascending UDFA last year, and now he is in his second season. Still, while it matters that he is getting on the field over Vildor, what really matters is his special teams ability.
Jaylon Jones played the most snaps and was the best special teams asset that the team had on Saturday. He led the team in tackles and showed energy all game. The only thing holding him back from making the roster now is that there are likely five names ahead of him. Still, the last few spots on the roster are about special teams, not which position you play, so a sixth cornerback can easily make it if they provide value the way Jaylon Jones has.
3. Did AJ Thomas win a roster spot with the Chicago Bears?
A.J. Thomas is doing everything you can ask to make the roster. He is not a lock yet, mainly due to the depth chart mechanics, but he may be a game or two away. He is entering his second year with the team. He was on the practice squad last year but got called up late into the year. That is where he grew and gained a skill set that has him so far ahead of rookie seventh-round pick Kendall Williamson.
The Chicago Bears knew that they had Thomas, but still drafted Williamson, so their investment is holding us back from locking Thomas on. Still, Thomas played special teams well and did it last year, too. He also was the third safety on the field Saturday because Jaquan Brisker was out. That means he is the clear fourth safety, ahead of Colbert and Williamson.
Williamson struggled, and Colbert did little of serious significance. Thomas was gifted an interception, but he made the play on the top drill, which is hard to do. Overall, he is one more game like that away from not being on this list next week. Can he follow up his first preseason game of 2023?
2. Can the Chicago Bears really cut Trevis Gipson?
The Chicago Bears pushed Trevis Gipson down the depth chart, but the first preseason game showed us why that was just paper. Gipson got on the field over D'Anthony Jones despite being behind him on the depth chart. He also was arguably the best player on the field.
While Gipson has two more weeks, at this point, the only way he does not make the roster is if his play is so good that the Chicago Bears get offered some compensation for him.
If the Bears could trade him, they would. After all, he is their fifth rusher at best. Yannick Ngakoue and DeMarcus Walker did not even play in the game, so the Bears brass thinks those two would have done even more damage in these settings.
Rasheem Green and Dominique Robinson both started over Gipson, and both were pulled early into the game, reserving them for the regular season. It was Gipson who had to play that much and also had to play that well to get into this spot on the depth chart. That is why he needs another week or two of that caliber to lock himself onto the depth chart. Still, through one game you cannot ask for anything more than what Trevis Gipson did.
1. Terrell Lewis is answering the Chicago Bears calls
For as strong as Trevis Gipson was, Terrell Lewis was right there. He finished the game with two sacks. So, for as much as Gipson moved his stock, he did not really pass anyone up. Lewis is in the position of Gipson, where he played so much because he is fighting for his roster life.
Still, he has been rising every step of the offseason, while Gipson just started his ascent last week. Lewis was a huge winner from OTAs, and he had been dominating training camp. He was listed over Gipson on the depth chart and played as much and as meaningful snaps.
As a prospect, Lewis has serious talent. However, he cannot stay healthy. This will be the test over the next two weeks, and it is why he is not a lock. From May until now, you cannot say that Lewis did not earn a roster spot, but there are still a few more questions.
If Lewis gets real work the next two weeks, stays healthy, and creates a few more pressures, he still has a better shot at making the roster than Trevis Gipson, who has just started to win the coaches over with one big game. Lewis has had three strong months.