Biggest Chicago Bears Questions After Trimming Roster to 53

What if they feared Large being claimed by the Panthers, or one of their other early opponents. The tight end position is a key to how Johnson operates his offense. It's not info the Bears would want to get out.

The Bears have carried four tight ends in the past, but not with Johnson as coach. In camp, they practiced some three tight-end short-yardage with Large lining up in the backfield as a fullback.

At this point, it looks like this could be their plan, but Large was injured earlier in the week in practice and it's always possible they would move him to IR.

Are they certain Ozzy Trapilo is ready to play in two weeks?

There are only three tackles on the roster besides Trapilo. A team needs four but Trapilo has not been involved in actual scrimmaging as he rebounds from patellar tendon injury.

"He's doing individual and getting some drill work to the side there," Ben Johnson said after Saturday's game. "We like where he is at, as well."

This all seems rather rushed considering he isn't working in with the team in scrimmages yet. However, it's possible they might be rushing him. By not putting Trapilo on injured reserve, they're indicating he might be ready to go any time in the first one to three weeks of the season.

Perhaps the Bears really have caught a break and Trapilo will be ready after just eight months of rehab. At worst, he could be a backup to Braxton Jones at first before gaining full strength.

What is their play at linebacker?

No NFL team gets by with only four linebackers. They're too valuable for special teams in addition to playing a spot whe

re they're involved in some of the most violent hits. The Bears look primed to bring back Jack Sanborn for the practice squad and/or even a younger player like Wayne Matthews III, who had some hellacious hits in preseason. Whoever, they need a fifth linebacker. It could be the fifth would be Noah Sewell, but his progress from an Achilles injury is somewhat similar to where Trapilo is. It doesn't seem like he's ready.

Is Marcus Davenport's release final

It's possible they released Davenport because he's not yet ramped up and ready for the roster to play in Week 1. Then again, no one would probably be upset if he didn't get signed based on his injury past. He hasn't done anything yet in a practice. It lets them keep Jamree Kromah and Daniel Hardy, or defensive tackle Jayden Loving. No one was more impactful on the D-line throughout training camp and preseason than Kromah.

Are Tyson Bagent trade rumors done finally?

Everyone should have realized it wasn't happening when Ben Johnson was making jokes about the possibility at the combine. This would be a late point to trade their backup and another team would need to go through a few weeks of work to have him ready to play as a backup. Also, at this point there are other plenty of other backup types available after cuts for teams to claim.

Jordan van den Berg sure, but Jayden Loving?

Loving wasn't a one-trick pony. He was excellent Saturday but he was standing out the same way in practices. The Bears would have loved to have snuck the undrafted free agent onto the practice squad. During interview sessions with assistant coaches a few weeks back I asked line coach Jeremy Garrett about Loving and he had a look on his face like it was the last thing he wanted to talk about, and essentially didn't. He gave an uncharacteristically brief and sketchy answer about Loving's play and quickly moved on. They knew what they had there at defensive tackle and wanted to keep it on the down low.

So this is safety?

It sure doesn't seem like it. There's inexperience and lack of proven, quality talent at the position. They could definitely use a trade for someone who can help bring along Dillon Thieneman. Xavier Woods hasn't really excelled.

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