5 Chicago Bears Veterans Now on Roster Bubble Following Draft
The Chicago Bears drafted six new players and signed 15 undrafted free agents last week to round out their 90-man roster, meaning a handful of veterans are now on the roster bubble as the team heads into their offseason activities.
General manager Ryan Pace was unable to address all of Chicago's needs on both sides of the football, but he came into the draft not wanting to reach for a player at a position of need and went with the best player available with each of his picks.
"You have to be disciplined with that,” Pace said Saturday night, according to the Chicago Sun-Times' Adam Jahns. “When I’ve seen mistakes in the draft, it’s because you do that. We promised ourselves and we pride ourselves that we won’t do that."
The addition of new talent on both sides of the football will now force some of Chicago's veterans to work harder to maintain their roster spot next season.
"We'll all be competing, all fight for starting jobs," Pace said over the weekend, according to Arthur Arkush of ChicagoFootball.com.
Which veterans are currently on the roster bubble following last week's draft? We explore that ahead.
C Will Montgomery
1 of 5
Earlier this offseason, the Bears decided to part ways with veteran center Roberto Garza and signed Will Montgomery to a one-year deal.
Montgomery was a seventh-round pick of Carolina in 2006, and he started four games for the Panthers that season. He spent two years with the New York Jets, six with the Washington Redskins and one with the Denver Broncos before landing in Chicago earlier this year. He has started 71 games in his career, including eight last season.
He played for Bears head coach John Fox in both Carolina and Denver, and he was excited to rejoin Fox in Chicago, saying, according to Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune:
"They believe in me and they’re interested in me. Also, I like what they’re all about. Fox has been a great coach (for) years. [Offensive coordinator] Adam Gase is a head coach in the making, and obviously [offensive line coach] Dave Magazu, too, has been around as a very good coach. It definitely has been a privilege to play for those guys.
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Montgomery's familiarity with the team's offense likely played a large part in his signing, but the team added competition at the position in the draft by selecting Oregon center Hroniss Grasu with the 71st overall pick.
Pace had nothing but good things to say about the former four-year starter after he was selected Friday night.
“His makeup is off the charts,” Pace said, according to Larry Mayer of ChicagoBears.com. “There are certain guys on our board that we’ll check a ‘Bears box;’ a little ‘Bear’ that’ll pop up. To us, that’s a guy who has every trait we’re looking for. Grasu is one of those guys.”
Grasu is an intelligent, athletic center, and Pace gave a quick scouting report on his center after the draft, saying, according to Mayer:
"The standout traits with [Grasu] are his balance, his quickness; he’s excellent at the second level, quick on reach blocks. He’s a highly intelligent player. His athleticism really jumps out—just his quickness and his balance—the things you look for in a center. Lateral quickness is important for a center. The ability to reach a nose tackle. He’s got all those traits.
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The Bears clearly think highly of Grasu, and while Montgomery looks like the favorite to land the starting job in 2015, a strong training camp and preseason from Grasu could make the 32-year-old center expendable.
S Ryan Mundy
2 of 5
The Bears signed veteran safety Ryan Mundy last offseason to a two-year, $3 million contract, and he started all 16 games for the team and registered a team-high 103 tackles.
Despite leading the team in tackles, he struggled at times against both the pass and the run, and he might not be the best fit in defensive coordinator Vic Fangio's scheme.
Fangio likes to use his safeties interchangeably, and he typically leans toward athletic safeties who are good in coverage, while Mundy is considered more of a box safety who is at his best playing near the line of scrimmage.
The team signed veteran Antrel Rolle to a three-year contract earlier this offseason, and the Bears also drafted Penn State safety Adrian Amos in the fifth round of the draft.
Rolle has the flexibility to play both the strong and free safety position, and he could become the team's strong safety if Amos has a strong showing in training camp.
Amos is a fluid, athletic safety who possesses good range and a smooth backpedal. He began his career at Penn State as a cornerback before making the transition to safety, and that versatility should help him at the next level.
“Some safeties you don’t get to see enough isolated in ‘man’ coverage a lot,” Pace said about Amos, according to John Mullin of CSNChicago.com. “But you do with him. We’re going to start him out at safety and have him there. In different packages he can have different roles but he’s a safety first for us.”
While at Penn State, Amos primarily played strong safety because it was a way to showcase his abilities.
"We used him as the strong (safety) because we felt like that’s where we wanted to put our best athletes and he’d be at the center of a lot of different things," said Penn State defensive coordinator Bob Shoop, according to Dan Wiederer of the Chicago Tribune.
Shoop also praised Amos' versatility, saying:
"So his greatest asset is probably his versatility. You can utilize him in a lot of different ways. Safety. Nickel. Corner. He’d pick it up fast. If [Fangio] wanted him to play safety, he’ll step in the box and be physical against the run. If you want him to play slot corner, he could probably do some of those things. Or a dime. And he was always a very unselfish player. And his response to me all the time when we’d talk about where we were going to put him was ‘Whatever’s best for the team Coach.'
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While Mundy was a steady contributor for the team last season, the Bears may be willing to roll the dice with Amos as a starter this offseason, leaving Mundy on the roster bubble.
OT Jordan Mills
3 of 5
A fifth-round pick in 2013, Jordan Mills started all 16 games at right tackle his rookie season and made 13 starts last year.
According to Pro Football Focus, Mills allowed the most quarterback hurries in the league with 62 in 2013. He also gave up 13 quarterback hits and three sacks in 1,022 snaps. In 13 starts last season, he gave up 31 quarterback hurries, six quarterback hits and six sacks in 839 snaps.
The team opted not to address the position in free agency, but they did select TCU tackle Tayo Fabuluje in the sixth round.
Fabuluje measured in at 6'6" and 353 pounds at the NFL Scouting Combine in February, and Pace would like the former Horned Frog to drop some weight, saying, according to CBSChicago.com:
"This is a massive player, very strong, very strong. Athletic for a big man. He can play tackle; he can play guard. His weight has been well documented and we’re going to stay on that. We’ve got a great strength-and-conditioning program here, sports science – that’ll be an emphasis and he understands that. When this guy’s at the right weight, we feel really good about him and there’s a lot of upside potential as well.
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He does not always look engaged on the field, but one NFL scout sees some promise in the young tackle if he is able to lose some weight.
"His body language can be deceiving," said an NFC East area scout, according to Lance Zierlein of NFL.com. "When you watch him at a practice he looks like this oafish kid who doesn't care, and then when you talk to him and watch the tape you see that's not the case. I would love to see what he could do at about 335 pounds."
While his height is desirable on the outside at tackle, he may be better suited moving inside to guard.
"Fabuluje might be best served moving inside, where his strength and short-area movement skills will be viewed as big pluses by offensive line coaches," Zierlein wrote in his scouting report.
I discussed moving Pro Bowl guard Kyle Long to tackle earlier this offseason, and if the Bears decide to make that move and use Fabuluje, Ryan Groy, Michael Ola or even Grasu at guard this season, Mills could be on his way out.
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KR Marc Mariani
4 of 5
The Bears began the 2014 season with undrafted rookie Senorise Perry as their primary kick returner, but he struggled, and the team eventually turned to former CFL star Chris Williams.
Williams returned 24 kickoffs for 559 yards and scored one touchdown, but he was waived in early December.
The Bears signed former Pro Bowler Marc Mariani in late November, and he returned 20 kicks for 510 yards, but with the Bears drafting Michigan State running back Jeremy Langford in the fourth round and signing Baylor wide receiver Levi Norwood as an undrafted free agent, he might now be on the roster bubble.
Langford does not have any experience as a kick returner, but his 4.42 40-yard dash time at the combine was the fastest among all running backs. His speed alone could make him an intriguing option in the return game.
If the Bears are looking for someone with more experience, Norwood averaged 20.2 yards per kick return and scored two touchdowns as a punt returner in his career at Baylor. He ran just a 4.57 and 4.63 40-yard dash at his pro day, according to NFL.com, but what he lacks in speed, he makes up for with his ability to make tacklers miss.
"All-purpose threat that is able to make a big play via the passing game or special teams. He has just enough juke in his step to make a man miss," wrote CBSSports.com's Bo Marchionte.
Baylor head coach Art Briles praised Norwood back in 2013 for both his kick and punt return abilities.
“I think his versatility is the key word, without question,” Briles said, according to Max Olson of ESPN.com. “Here’s a guy who returns kicks and punts, and returning punts is one of the hardest jobs on the field. It takes a special person to be able to do that on a consistent level.”
Mariani was serviceable last season for the Bears, but the team may look for someone who possesses top-end speed like Langford or for someone who is considered a quick-twitch athlete like Norwood to be the team's return man in 2015.
RB Ka'Deem Carey
5 of 5
The Bears used a fourth-round pick on Arizona running back Ka'Deem Carey last year, but he could be on the roster bubble following the Bears' selection of Jeremy Langford in the fourth round over the weekend.
Carey played sparingly in his rookie season, registering just 158 yards on 36 carries. According to Pro Football Focus, he played just 100 snaps in 2014, and just 17 in the team's last five games.
In addition to adding Langford over the weekend, the Bears also signed veteran running back Jacquizz Rodgers this offseason.
Matt Forte will be Chicago's starter at running back, but Langford, Carey, Rodgers and Perry are all set to compete to be his backup.
“We like the competition there,” Pace said, according to Mayer. “The more competition, the better at every position, including running back. We’re excited about that.”
Between 2013 and 2014, Langford rushed for 2,944 yards on 568 carries and scored 40 touchdowns, and he gives the Bears a versatile running back who has good hands and excels in pass protection.
Rodgers was used primarily as a third-down back in Atlanta, but he is just 25 years old and has registered 1,116 rushing yards on 305 carries with five touchdowns and 1,104 receiving yards on 155 receptions with five touchdowns in four seasons with the Falcons.
Rodgers is small (5'6", 196 lbs), but he is a willing pass-blocker, has good hands and is at his best between the tackles.
While Rodgers is viewed as a between-the-tackles runner, Langford is more of an explosive outside runner. Langford is almost guaranteed to make the roster, but Carey will have to fight hard to prove his worth against a veteran like Rodgers in training camp.
Carey will need to show improvement in pass protection and special teams in order to claim a roster spot this offseason.
Statistical information courtesy of Sports-Reference.com and NFL.com. Combine numbers and measurables courtesy of NFL.com.
Matt Eurich is a Chicago Bears Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report and a member of the Pro Football Writers of America.
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