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With camp and cuts ahead, two Bears players could find new pro football opportunity if things don’t pan out in Chicago or the NFL

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By Kole Noble | Last updated Jul 3, 2025 9:06 AM ET

Making it to the NFL is a lifelong dream that not many athletes are able to accomplish and the league can be unforgiving to many players blessed to eventually reach it.

Luckily for those players who don't pan out, there's more avenues in professional football to keep the dream alive as a pro football player.

Leagues such as the UFL, CFL, LFA, and many others are always looking for top level talent to continue growing their respective leagues.

Sticking with the CFL, in July teams in the Canadian Football League created negotiation lists. Each team is allowed to "claim" 45 players that are either on NFL rosters, free agents, or still in college. Once claimed, the teams hold exclusive rights to players if they were to enter in the CFL.

For the first time, the full lists from all nine teams in the CFL has been released to the public, and it features some intriguing high profile names such as Shedeur Sanders and Trey Lance. Scanning through the lists, two players currently on the Chicago Bears' 91-man roster were included as well, giving those players another opportunity if things don't work out in the coming months ahead.

The nine teams of the Canadian Football League have made their Negotiation Lists fully public for the first time.

: https://t.co/WWMt4raULu pic.twitter.com/w6YlalLLqt
— CFL (@CFL) July 2, 2025

2 Bears players listed on CFL negotiation lists

Here are the two players currently on the Bears' roster that showed up on the list and which teams "claimed" their rights if they decide to go to the CFL:

QB Austin Reed - Hamilton Tiger-Cats
RB Deion Hankins - Calgary Stampeders

Austin Reed joined the Bears in 2024 as an undrafted free agent out of Western Kentucky. Making the transition to the NFL was an exciting process for the air-raid gunslinger who got some preseason action during his first season.

Reed was eventually released during roster cuts before the regular season and was brought back onto the Bears' practice squad. After the season, Reed signed a futures deal to remain in Chicago this offseason, but it's going to be another tough battle.

The Bears already have three quarterbacks above Reed on the roster in Caleb Williams, Tyson Bagent, and Case Keenum. Now, it's entirely possible the Bears roster all three and keep Reed on the practice squad for the second year in a row. However, a more clear path to playing time could be found up north saying that's the case, or the Bears decide to move on completely.

Austin Reed ➡️ Tommy Sweeney

The @ChicagoBears extend their lead!

: #CHIvsKC on @NFLNetwork
: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/CUzIBb9dy8
— NFL (@NFL) August 23, 2024

The same goes for Hankins, a 2025 undrafted free agent out of Texas State. Chicago has a crowded backfield already with D'Andre Swift, Roschon Johnson, Kyle Monangai, Travis Homer, and Ian Wheeler. It's a tough group to break into.

Hankins' best college season came in 2023 during his final year at UTEP where he recorded 812 yards and five touchdowns before transferring. In his lone year at Texas State, he only totaled 272 yards and two touchdowns in 13 games.

Ultimately, it's the players choice to decide what to do. The option is there to test things out in the CFL if things don't pan out in Chicago or with any other NFL team. Of course, we wish everyone the best, but we all know it can be a tough business.

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

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