Chicago Bears Terminate Contract of 23-Year-Old Defender

The Chicago Bears have terminated the contract of 23-year-old defensive back Marlen Sewell, releasing the Vanderbilt product from the practice squad with an injury settlement, via the NFL transaction log.

Sewell, born Feb. 16, 2003, in Birmingham, Alabama, never appeared in a regular-season game for Chicago. The move comes just days before the Bears open the 2026 season Sunday against the Carolina Panthers.

An undrafted free agent in the 2026 class, Sewell originally signed with the Kansas City Chiefs after the draft following a tryout. Kansas City waived him in early June to make room for the official signing of veteran cornerback L’Jarius Sneed.

Chicago added him on Aug. 4, one day after safety Coby Bryant suffered a knee injury in padded practice that was expected to sideline him 8-10 weeks. The Bears placed defensive lineman Jonathan Garvin on injured reserve as the corresponding move.

Sewell spent training camp competing for a depth safety role and special-teams work. He was waived during final roster cuts at the end of August, then quickly re-signed to the practice squad.

The injury settlement now ends his brief tenure with the organization and allows him to become a free agent after the required waiting period, rather than remaining on the practice squad or injured reserve.

At Vanderbilt, Sewell played five seasons and appeared in 45 games with 15 starts. He finished his college career with 102 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, a half-sack, three passes defended, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.

His best statistical year came in 2025, when he posted a career-high 52 tackles as a team captain and started all 13 games. He ran a 4.48-second 40-yard dash at his pro day. He is not related to Bears linebackers Noah Sewell or Nephi Sewell.

The Bears have dealt with several secondary injuries this preseason, including Bryant and nickel corner Kyler Gordon, who remains on the physically unable to perform list. Sewell was viewed as a camp body and practice-squad candidate rather than a projected contributor on the 53-man roster.

Injury settlements are common for practice-squad players who suffer injuries that would otherwise keep them on the roster in a limited capacity.

The agreement typically provides compensation while freeing a practice-squad spot. Sewell now joins the pool of young defensive backs looking for another opportunity as teams finalize Week 1 rosters and practice squads.

For a player who spent five years developing at Vanderbilt after arriving as a three-star recruit, the next step will be finding a landing spot that values his special-teams experience and late-career production.

The Bears, meanwhile, continue shaping their secondary depth heading into the regular season.