Chicago Bears 53-man roster projection ahead of Week 3 preseason game vs. Bills

It used to be easier for NFL teams to trim their rosters to 53 players. It was a gradual process that took place over several cutdown days.

This year, the Chicago Bears and the rest of the league will reach their final squad on August 29th.

More than almost any other NFL event, this process is rife with speculation. Fans have their favorite backups and their “draft crushes” and hope that the coaches feel the same, but outside of the obvious starters, it’s impossible to know for sure who will make the cut.

Nevertheless, let’s take a look at what the Bears’ 53-man roster could look like. This projection is based on what I think Ryan Poles will do, not necessarily what I would do.

QB: Justin Fields, PJ Walker, Tyson Bagent

We don’t yet know too much about how Ryan Poles operates as a GM, but I think we can safely say that he wants to find, keep, and develop intriguing young talents like Tyson Bagent. Normally, the practice squad would be the place for that, but another team would almost certainly poach the rookie UDFA quarterback. If Poles wants to keep Bagent, and I believe he does, then he will have to place him on the roster.

RB: Khalil Herbert, D’Onta Foreman, Roschon Johnson, Khari Blasingame, Travis Homer

That last running back spot is the only difficult one to predict. It could be Trestan Ebner, but I think Poles will lean toward Homer. He’s only five months older than Ebner but has three more years of NFL experience.

WR: DJ Moore, Darnell Mooney, Chase Claypool, Tyler Scott, Equanimeous St. Brown, Velus Jones Jr

At this point, I would cut Jones if I was GM of the Chicago Bears, but I don’t think that will happen. Instead, Poles gives the third-round pick from the 2022 NFL Draft one more season.

TE: Cole Kmet, Robert Tonyan, Marcedes Lewis

No surprises here, these three are the only realistic options.

OL: Braxton Jones, Teven Jenkins, Cody Whitehair, Nate Davis, Darnell Wright, Larry Borom, Lucas Patrick, Ja’Tyre Carter

This one is tough to predict beyond the starting five, but I think Borom, Patrick, and Carter have shown the most out of all the available options. Plus, there’s a lot of positional versatility in that group.

DL: Yannick Ngakoue, DeMarcus Walker, Terrell Lewis, Dominique Robinson, Justin Jones, Andrew Billings, Gervon Dexter, Zacch Pickens, Trevis Gipson

I hope DT Travis Bell makes the roster, but with all the talent ahead of him, I don’t think there will be room for the seventh-round pick from Kennesaw State. Gipson may have done enough to make the final cut, but I wouldn’t be shocked to see him released.

LB: Tremaine Edmunds, TJ Edwards, Jack Sanborn, Noah Sewell, Micah Baskerville, Dylan Cole, DeMarquis Gates

The first four seem fairly obvious, it gets hard to predict after that. However, Baskerville has been a training camp standout, and I feel pretty good about him making the roster.

DB: Jaylon Johnson, Kyler Gordon, Tyrique Stevenson, Terrell Smith, Eddie Jackson, Jaquan Brisker, Elijah Hicks, Jaylon Jones, AJ Thomas

Unlike most of the 2022 Chicago Bears, the secondary was a solid group. If this is how the 53-man roster shakes out, then only two players, Stevenson and Smith, would be different from last year’s roster.

Paul Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports

ST: Cairo Santos, Trenton Gill, Patrick Scales

America’s favorite special teams unit is back! All three of these guys were dependable last year, and their jobs are safe.