Denny Medley-Imagn Images

Ben Johnson's latest comments on two Bears defenders could lead to some impactful roster implications ahead of cutdown day

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By Kole Noble | Last updated Aug 23, 2025 10:49 AM ET

The Chicago Bears wrapped up the 2025 preseason on Friday with a win over the Kansas City Chiefs and now the attention turns toward what moves will be made to trim the roster down from 90 players to the initial 53-man roster.

"It's tough when it's the last time when you're in the locker room with a 90-man roster and you know what's coming right around the corner soon," head coach Ben Johnson said after the game. "We'll have some tough decisions to make."

When it comes to the upcoming roster cuts, Johnson did add tw o key updates with depth players on defense that could lead to some impactful roster implications over the next few days.

DE Austin Booker will be out a "few weeks"

First off, let's start with defensive end Austin Booker. The second-year edge rusher put together a really strong summer for this team and showed some real development under this new staff.

His presence continued to be felt on the field during the first two preseason games in which he totaled 5.0 sacks and nine total pressures. Johnson even referred to him as a "menace" following his game against the Miami Dolphins.

Have a day, @austinbookerr

: FOX32
pic.twitter.com/fDL0b19m0w
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) August 10, 2025

Unfortunately, Booker's stellar preseason was cut short after leaving the game against the Buffalo Bills last week with a knee injury. Booker was held out of the preseason finale on Friday and after the game, Johnson revealed "Booker's going to be out a few weeks" which is a big blow to the room.

The Bears do have over two weeks until the regular season opener against the Minnesota Vikings, so if it's just a few weeks, Booker could avoid starting the season on the injured reserve, which would force him to miss the first four weeks of the season. If placing him on the IR is the plan, the Bears could look to keep another edge rusher on the initial roster such as Daniel Hardy, who earned some recognition after Friday's game.

Another option would be adding an outside player to the room, wheth er that's off waivers or off the free agent market. Personally, I'd just carry Hardy over adding someone into the building.

Zah Frazier is still dealing with a personal issue

The status of fifth-round rookie Zah Frazier has been a puzzling situation throughout all of training camp. When camp opened, Frazier did not report back after the spring due to a personal issue.

He continued to be excused from practice for the following weeks and finally made a brief appearance earlier this week, although he did not actually take the field for practice. On Friday, Johnson reiterated Frazier is still dealing with the personal issue with no progress toward him practicing with the team.

In the meantime, the Bears have had a competitive battle at the cornerback positions and dealt with multiple injuries over the course of the preseason.

Based on this update, the Bears might have no choice but to waive the rookie defensive back and bring him back on the practice squad. Which opens up a spot for a guy like Nick McCloud to make the initial roster.

Roster cuts will have to be finalized by 1:00pm EST on Tuesday, we'll see what kind of official decisions the team decides to make by that point.

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: