Where the Bears Could Seek Out Players After Cuts

Ask linebacker Jack Sanborn his most anxious moments from his first season with the Bears and it's possible he'll say the night before final roster cuts.

"Yeah, I think it is nerve-wracking and I think everybody kind of have that feeling when it comes," Sanborn said. "And you know it's a day that it is what it is in the NFL. I think yeah, it's a sad day for everybody."

It's really sad for those cut, and also for their former teammates who know those players are gone.

But then there is the day after cuts. 

With younger teams like the Bears, it can be just as difficult or even more anxiety filled because the players who made it to the roster are once again sitting around watching and hoping no one who cleared waivers from another team gets picked up at their position to bump them from the roster after cut day.

Last year the Bears made their roster cuts and cornerback Duke Shelley breathed a sigh of relief in the locker room while talking to media. He was even laughing.

The next day the rug got pulled out from under him. The Bears were forming a team in a rebuild. GM Ryan Poles showed there is no time to feel safe and that deadlines mean little. They claimed Alex Leatherwood, Armon Watts, Ihmir Smith-Marsette, Kingsley Jonathan, Sterling Weatherford, Trevon Wesco and Josh Blackwell off waivers. Gone were Shelley, Caleb Johnson, Zach Thomas and Khyiris Tonga. They even cut linebacker Joe Thomas but eventually brought him back.

On post-cut day no one who survived the roster bubble is safe until possibly two full days after cuts.

While the Bears are looking at their talent in preseason and training camp, Poles, Ian Cunningham and staff have been combing the rosters and know who could be out there and might be worth bringing to Chicago. They know what they have and whether they can find someone elsewhere who is better and might not be available until the cuts.

For the Bears this year, they have first dibs on any player waived until the third week of the season because they finished with the worst record in 2022. A team that knows the Bears are going to claim someone they waive might seek to trade him before cuts just to make sure they get something back in return.

In the meantime, all the players on the roster can do is sit and wait.

Working on the side of Bears who are in the bubble and actually make roster cutdown is this year the team shouldn't require as much assistance from waiver wire types as last year. They've had the whole off-season and draft for two years to acquire players, so the need for talent should be diminished.

Here are the positions where the Bears would seem most likely to have interest in the post-cuts market, based on what players have shown in training camp and preseason.

1. Slot Cornerback

Josh Blackwell showed great promise last year as a slot cornerback. He also might have been their best special teams player on the year. However, he played only 13% of the defensive snaps when he was available so it's not like he was settling solidly into the position. This year Blackwell has been bothered by an injury in preseason and hasn't had as much playing time. It wouldn't be shocking to see them snatch up a slot cornerback who knows what he's doing behind Kyler Gordon based on Blackwell's recent inactivity and inexperience. It's a niche position and if someone well qualified becomes available without carrying baggage like past injuries, it could lead to some anxious times for Blackwell.

2. Safety

The Bears have resisted the urge to bring back veteran DeAndre Houston-Carson and he went to Baltimore. They spent much of the last two weeks without Eddie Jackson and Jaquan Brisker out injured, so if safeties who were on the market had appealed more to them than the backup options they had on the roster already then they could have been expected to sign someone. They haven't. Elijah Hicks is someone who they have invested a lot of faith and time in this off-season and unless they are totally floored by someone who has been cut, he'd be someone they could be expected to keep. However, after Hicks it isn't as clear cut. Seventh-round rookie Kendall Williamson has come on strong of late while undrafted rookie Bralen Trahan has flashed on occasion as well.

"The young pups are getting better," safeties coach Andre Curtis said. "That first game, kind of early, they didn't know what to expect. As usual. They make it out to be something they haven't done. Now, the second game they settled down and played better, more consistent football. Yes, they flashed. But they played more consistently in that second game than the first. That's all you can ask from those young guys is to keep making that steady improvement. They have and they've done some cool stuff in practice."

However, if a safety cut elsewhere was someone the Bears graded higher in the draft or is a veteran with past success and no baggage, it would be difficult to keep the younger players and turn down the proven commodity or higher-rated player.

3. Tackle

Larry Borom has been the most effective Bears pass blocker this preseason according to Pro Football Focus. It's good to have a swing tackle this effective. He hadn't been so strong at this in the past. Tackles, cornerbacks and pass rushers are three of the most coveted positions and when players of prime age and quality are available on waivers at these spots, the Bears have to be like every other team and look into it. They did last year with Alex Leatherwood. Last year before camp they merely signed free agent Riley Reiff. But they had Borom starting then. The need seems less severe than last year because they have a first-round right tackle in Darnell Wright already in starting position, although he is coming off a recent injury.

They also still have Leatherwood, who had been tried at tackle and guard but lately has been mostly a guard.

"He's getting better. Just like everybody else," line coach Chris Morgan said. "They are developing, they are working hard and trying to refine his skills. It's been kind of different for him. He's been able to not move around a lot, so he should get a little bit better, and he's doing a good job."

4. Edge Rusher

One of the tougher cuts the Bears will have will be edge rusher, possibly between Trevis Gipson, Dominique Robinson and Terrell Lewis. So it wouldn't seem a place they necessarily need to add players. With Yannick Ngakoue, DeMarcus Walker and Rasheem Green ahead of the others at the position, they have plenty of bodies and some experience. However, pass rushers come at a premium and if some team is foolish enough to waive a viable pass rusher then the Bears can be expected to take a close look.

5. Linebacker

They've sorted through a stack already while trying to cover up the middle of the defense with starter Tremaine Edmunds, starter Jack Sanborn and backup DeMarquis Gates all out injured at various points in camp. 

Davion Taylor, Mykal Walker and Barrington Wade are all recent additions who were signed during camp but with other potentially more talented players coming available it's a good bet the Bears take a look at one to back up at linebacker with Noah Sewell and possibly Dylan Cole.

6. Punt Returner

Right now, any punt returner who is able to fulfill more duties, such as in kick coverage or on offense or defense, would get considered. Dante Pettis is done on IR. Most likely it could be a wide receiver but it's not a necessity.  However, they will definitely want to add a receiver or two after roster cuts. Isaiah Ford and Daurice Fountain have performed admirably and are practice squad options unless they are surprise members of the roster. Finding a receiver who returns punts would be more important. There are good reasons not to like the other options they have available:

• Velus Jones Jr.—too fumbly

• DJ Moore—too risky for key player

• Tyrique Stevenson—too risky for key starter

• Nsimba Webster—takes up roster spot needed for better players

• Tyler Scott—inexperienced doing it