The Chicago Bears practice squad may not be pivotal to the team’s success this season. Still, it can have an impact on how a season goes depending on if they get the right players on it. By the look of things, the team has good reasons to feel optimistic. Only one of their cut players was claimed off waivers this year. That was former 3rd round pick Jonathan Bullard. The rest made it to free agency and several have already begun signing on with the team.
Here is the list as it stands:
- DL Jonathan Harris
- CB Michael Joseph
- CB Stephen Denmark
- WR Thomas Ives
- RB Ryan Nall
- OL Alex Bars
- OL Sam Mustipher
- QB Tyler Bray
- TE Jesper Horsted
- RB/WR Taquan Mizzell
As of now, the squad is at 20 players. This is the official limit, so they may not have plans to sign somebody else for the time being. It’s a mild surprise they kept no outside linebacker with recent cuts James Vaughters or Kylie Fitts being options. Practice squads are notoriously fluid. They’re unlikely to remain the same for an entire year. The team may cut or promote guys from week to week or they could get claimed by other teams.
Chicago Bears practice squad is heavy on future potential
Normally a practice squad is filled with either pure backup options or special teams help. This isn’t anything new. However, the Bears may be in a unique position in that they have a couple of names who have the potential to be starters in the future. Bars is one who stood out in this regard. He was solid throughout the preseason with power and technique. While he needs more work, he could end up being capable guard on Sundays.
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Another is Horsted. The young tight end out of Princeton is a pass-catching machine. He had a handful of ridiculous grabs in the preseason. His athleticism and body control are impressive. He’s not quite strong enough yet for the NFL but his style of play is a perfect fit for this offense, particularly the U tight end spot occupied by Trey Burton. A position that can be moved around the field depending on the situation.
On the flip side, Matt Nagy’s morbid fascination with Taquan Mizzell continues. It’s hard to understand why. The kid is a discount version of Tarik Cohen without any of the special traits. They’d have been better off keeping Josh Caldwell, the rookie running back they signed late in the preseason. He was much more reliable as a runner than Mizzell has ever been.
Critiques aside, the team seems happy with the overall roster they’ve built.
UPDATE:
It turns out Mizzell was not kept. Instead the Bears chose to retain CFL transfer James Vaughters on the practice squad, giving them a little more flexibility at the edge rusher position.
