Chicago Bears Preseason: Stock up, Stock Down after Week 2 loss to Colts

Training camp is officially over, and just one preseason game, the so-called “dress rehearsal” game, remains before the start of the 2023 NFL season.

The approaching regular season means that cutdown day is drawing near, and dozens of players from every team have one last chance to fight and scrap for a roster spot.

Looking back at the Chicago Bears’ 24-17 loss to the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday, we can point out several players whose performances either boosted their chances of making the cut or pushed them to the edge of the roster bubble.

Here are some of the Chicago Bears’ risers and fallers.

Stock Up

Tyson Bagent, QB

What else is left to say about Bagent? We’re all huge fans of the kid from Division II’s Shepherd University at this point, and even putting aside our emotions as fans, it seems like GM Ryan Poles would have to defy all logic not to roster him.

Maybe Bagent will come back to Earth next weekend, but right now, his arrow is pointing straight to the stars.

Roschon Johnson, RB

Johnson’s performance on Saturday was reminiscent of prime Matt Forte. He found every gap in the defense, exploded forward, and trucked anyone who tried to stop him.

Many analysts around the league have labeled Johnson an NFL draft steal, he indeed showed flashes of his potential in Indy. Another performance like that may leave current RB1 Khalil Herbert wondering how long his starting spot will be safe.

Terrell Lewis, EDGE

It feels good to see a Bears player wearing No. 52 breaking into backfields and sacking the quarterback again. While he’s no Khalil Mack, Lewis has been one of the most consistent standouts throughout training camp and in each preseason game so far. He recorded another sack against the Colts, this time causing a fumble too.

Newcomer Yannick Ngakoue is obviously still the best pass rusher on this team, but Lewis is making a strong case to be in the pass-rushing rotation.

Cairo Santos, K

In 2021, Santos set a franchise record for most consecutive field goals without a miss. A year later, he was seemingly shanking extra points every week. So far this offseason, Santos seems to have returned to a steady, consistent kicker and on Saturday, he nailed a long 50-yard field goal.

Hopefully, he’s found his groove again. Bears fans can’t stomach another unreliable kicker tanking a promising season.

Rookie Defensive Tackles

Let’s lump all the Chicago Bears rookie defensive tackles together. They followed a solid preseason debut against the Titans with another strong showing against the Colts.

Gervon Dexter Sr. showed tremendous speed and power at the snap, breaking into the backfield several times and nearly getting his first sack. Zacch Pickens was a down-to-down menace, and Travis Bell nearly had another sack.

All three defenders are expected to experience some growing pains, but after a historically awful defensive line in 2022, I think it’s safe to say that Bears fans can expect a much better (and more exciting) product in 2023.

Stock Down

Tyrique Stevenson, CB

I’m not quite as down on Stevenson as others I’ve seen, but he had a rough night against the Colts. He got beat a few times, drew an inexcusable personal foul penalty, and allowed an interception to slip through his hands for a touchdown. It’s a teachable moment for the rookie, and hopefully, he does not repeat the mistakes we saw from him against Indianapolis.

PJ Walker, QB

I hate piling on the guy while he’s down, but Walker has been bad since he arrived in Chicago. I’m actually shocked by his off-season because I loved the signing when it was announced.

Now, with his terrible play both in practice and in preseason games and the rise of Tyson Bagent, the backup quarterback job that he seemed to have locked up is ripe for the taking.

His arrow is pointing down, and he’s running out of time to change that.

Rashem Green, EDGE

Another week, another uninspiring performance from Green. No one expected the six-year vet make a huge impact, but so far he has yet to do anything at all. On Saturday, his stat sheet was straight zeroes across the board. The only time we heard his name called was for a penalty.

Green is a strong candidate to get cut.