Chicago Bears Final Cuts are Coming: Who's In? Who's Out?

The Bears, along with the rest of the NFL teams, are starting to finish up their preseason and head towards the regular season.  The first cuts will be coming on August 31 as teams must take their rosters down to 75 players.  The second and biggest round of cuts comes September 4, when rosters are trimmed to 53 players for the regular season.  Needless to say, some players are getting nervous as we move closer to the regular season.

The Bears aren’t any different from any other team out there.  They have to cut some players as well, and some of these cuts may end up being very difficult to make while some of them may be pretty simple.  It’s up to the coaching staff to make these decisions for the betterment of the team.

The Bears have 76 players on their roster right now and have to trim it down to 53.  Let’s take a look at the players on the bubble and try to determine who will stay and who will go.

Offense

Quarterbacks

On the bubble: Dan LeFevour, Caleb Hanie

The Bears will keep three quarterbacks going into the new season.  You can bet that Jay Cutler and Todd Collins will be two of them.  Will they want to keep LeFevour because of his draft status or Hanie because of his experience?  Who’s out? Hanie.

Running Backs

On the bubble: Kahlil Bell, Garrett Wolfe, Brandon Minor (Harvey Unga is on injured reserve). 

The biggest battle here has been between Bell and Wolfe for that third running back spot, and so far Wolfe has proven himself to be the better back of the two.  This race is really close to call but believe it or not, the Bears may have more value with Wolfe than they do with Bell.  So who’s out?  Bell and Minor.

Fullbacks/H-Back

On the bubble: Will Ta’ufo’ou,  Eddie Williams

With Desmond Clark pretty much a lock to play the H-Back position, you can look for the Bears to keep one more player to help back him up and play the “true” fullback position.  Ta’ufo’ou has looked much better in preseason, but his recent sprained knee (suffered in the game against the Cardinals) may seal his fate and keep Williams on the roster.  Who’s out? Ta’ufo’ou.

Wide Receiver

On the bubble: Freddie Barnes, Greg Matthews

If the Bears decide to keep six wide receivers, then Earl Bennett will make this team.  The other three remaining players just haven’t shown enough in training camp but could wind up getting on the practice squad. Who’s out? Barnes and Matthews.

Tight Ends

On the bubble: Richard Angulo

Depending on how they view the tight end position in regards to Desmond Clark, the Bears should decide to keep two or three tight ends.  Assuming that they keep three, Angulo would be the odd man out of this equation.  Who’s out? Angulo.

Centers

On the bubble: Tim Walter

Olin Kreutz is a given and Josh Beekman can play guard as well.  Walter was a good developmental prospect, but he won’t make the team.  Who’s out? Walter.

Guards

On the bubble: Johan Asiata

The Bears will have Roberto Garza, Lance Louis, and Josh Beekman at the guard position and may want to keep Asiata as extra insurance.  Four guards may seem like a lot, but with an underachieving offensive line, the Bears will need all the help that they can get.  Who’s out? No one.

Offensive Tackles  

On the bubble: Levi Horn, James Martens, J’Marcus Webb

The Bears have three tackles that they will keep for sure, and they will probably keep one more.  It’s likely they will want to keep J’Marcus Webb on the roster not only to develop him further (he has been very promising this preseason) but to also keep another team from snapping him off of their practice squad.  Martens could be the practice squad candidate.  Who’s out? Martens and Horn.

Defensive End

On the bubble: Barry Turner

The Bears are likely to carry four defensive ends going into the season so this pretty much leaves Turner out.  It also depends some on what they classify Jarron Gilbert as.  For this article, we have included him as a defensive tackle.  Who’s out? Turner.

Defensive Tackles

On the bubble: Jarron Gilbert, Matt Toeaina, Mick Williams

Toeaina may end making this team if the Bears decide to keep five defensive tackles (which they almost have to).  Gilbert’s status is still a little bit up in the air but he has had a disappointing training camp and has not outplayed anyone by any means.  He could see his last game as a Bear this Thursday night against the Browns.  Who’s out? Gilbert and Williams.

Linebacker

On the bubble: Brian Iwuh, Kevin Malast, Tim Shaw, Kelvin Smith

The Bears may want to keep six linebackers so this means that one of these guys has to go.  Rumor has it that last year’s special teams ace Tim Shaw may end up being one of the odd men out in this, but it’s hard to see the Bears getting rid of one of their best special teams players. 

One problem may be that Shaw isn’t a good linebacker (or as good as some of the others that are close to being cut) and this may hurt his chances of making the team.  Who’s out? Shaw, Malast, and Smith.

Cornerbacks

On the bubble: Cornelius Brown, Woodny Turenne

The Bears should keep six cornerbacks on the roster this season so that means that guys like Tim Jennings and D.J. Moore should make the roster.  Those remaining, Brown and Turenne, just haven’t shown enough to make the roster this season.  Who’s out? Brown and Turenne.

Safeties

On the bubble: Josh Bullocks, Quentin Scott, Aaron Webster

With Bullocks, this is a tough decision.  He really hasn’t had much of a chance to show what he’s got in training camp due to an injury so his status is a little bit up in the air.  Scott and Webster may be good practice squad candidates.  Who’s out? Scott and Webster.

Special Teams

On the bubble: None. 

The Bears will keep all of their key special teams players on their special teams unit through final cuts.  Who’s out? No one.