Shaw Local’s Chicago Bears 53-man roster projection

The preseason is in the books. The Bears finished the exhibition season with a win, 21-20, over the Cleveland Browns on Saturday at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland.

General manager Ryan Poles and head coach Matt Eberflus must now whittle down the roster from 80 players to 53 by 3 p.m. Tuesday. It’s always a tough task for NFL front offices.

Teams can keep an additional 16 players on the practice squad, but any player who doesn’t make the 53-man roster must clear waivers before the Bears can sign them to the practice squad. So any player who doesn’t make the roster Tuesday is at risk of being plucked by another team.

Below is Shaw Local’s 53-man roster projection for the Bears.

A couple of injury assumptions were made here. This list assumes that receiver N’Keal Harry will go on injured reserve and will miss at least the first four games of the season. Harry had surgery on his ankle this month and is expected to be out until at least early October, according to reports.

Center Lucas Patrick injured his hand early in training camp. He also is a candidate for injured reserve, however, he appears more likely to return within the first few weeks, so this projection has him on the active roster.

53-man roster projection

Quarterbacks (two): Justin Fields, Trevor Siemian

Running back (four): David Montgomery, Khalil Herbert, Trestan Ebner, Darrynton Evans

Fullback (one): Khari Blasingame

Wide receiver (six): Darnell Mooney, Equanimeous St. Brown, Velus Jones Jr., Byron Pringle, Dante Pettis, N’Keal Harry (Harry to injured reserve)

Tight end (three): Cole Kmet, Ryan Griffin, James O’Shaughnessy

Offensive line (nine): Braxton Jones, Cody Whitehair, Lucas Patrick, Teven Jenkins, Larry Borom, Michael Schofield, Riley Reiff, Sam Mustipher, Ja’Tyre Carter

Defensive line (nine): Robert Quinn, Trevis Gipson, Al-Quadin Muhammad, Mario Edwards Jr., Dominique Robinson, Justin Jones, Angelo Blackson, Khyiris Tonga, Trevon Coley

Linebacker (five): Roquan Smith, Nicholas Morrow, Joe Thomas, Matthew Adams, Jack Sanborn

Cornerback (six): Jaylon Johnson, Kyler Gordon, Kindle Vildor, Duke Shelley, Tavon Young, Lamar Jackson

Safety (five): Eddie Jackson, Jaquan Brisker, DeAndre Houston-Carson, Dane Cruikshank, Elijah Hicks

Special teams (three): Cairo Santos (K), Trenton Gills (P), Patrick Scales (LS)

Analysis

Some of the top names who didn’t make the roster include linebacker Caleb Johnson, rookie lineman Zachary Thomas, pass rusher Charles Snowden, defensive tackle Micah Dew-Treadway and cornerback Thomas Graham Jr.

Graham and cornerback Tavon Young [who is on the 53 here] both play slot corner but have not played the entire preseason. Without knowing the true extent of their injuries, it’s hard to say what the Bears might be thinking. We kept Young on the active roster because he’s a veteran. Graham is a prime candidate for the practice squad. Those two easily could be flipped, though.

Undrafted rookie tight end Chase Allen is a nice prospect, but the position is crowded with veterans ahead of him. He certainly is a practice squad target.

The Bears likely will keep only two quarterbacks on the active roster, but keep Nathan Peterman on the practice squad.

With Braxton Jones, Teven Jenkins and Larry Borom all in the starting lineup on the offensive line, veterans Riley Reiff and Michael Schofield are on the bench. Reiff can be the first tackle off the bench on either side. Should the Bears need to go deeper than that, Jenkins could slide over to tackle in an emergency.

The wide receiver position is very thin because of injuries. If there’s one position the Bears will be scouring the waiver wire for, it’s probably receiver.