Like death and taxes, the annual love affair with a fringe wide receiver and Bears fans is scheduled to begin in a few weeks when training camp opens next month. Wide Receivers who fans have had a love affair with during preseason include names like Airese Currie in 2005 and Devin Aromashodu in 2009 comes to mind. Tanner Gentry stole the hearts of Bears fans in 2017, and his time with the Bears resembled a roller coaster ride more than a football career.
Of the three players mentioned, only Aromashodu enjoyed any playing time with the team during the regular season. Devin’s moment in the sun came during a week 15 game in 2009. Aromashodu had seven receptions for 150 yards. His 39-yard TD grab in overtime gave the Bears a thrilling 36-30 win over division rival Minnesota.
Here are this year’s candidates for this year’s Tanner Gentry Award:
Joe Reed (Virginia): Reed was selected in the fifth round of the 2020 draft by the L. A. Chargers. Reed has been on the roster for 12 Charger games and has one career TD. He has been on the Chargers practice squad for the last two years. Chicago signed Reed to a futures contract this past January.
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Thyrick Pitts (Delaware): Pitts is a UDFA out of Delaware. He totaled 57 receptions for 631 yards and 10 TDs in 2022. The 6′ 3″ WR ran a blistering 4.37 at Delaware’s pro day. Look for Pitts to be an early fan favorite during the preseason. His tall frame and top-tier speed are a target Bears QBs need to focus on this Summer.
Daurice Fountain (Northern Iowa): Daurice Fountain was signed to the Bears Practice Squad during Week 8 last year. Fountain has logged time with the Colts from 2018-2020 and the Kansas City Chiefs (2020-2021).
Aron Cruickshank (Rutgers): After two seasons at Wisconsin, Aron transferred to Rutgers for his final two years of eligibility. In 2022, he had career highs in receptions (42) and yards (385). According to reports, Cruickshank is a better-than-average return man. But with a roster full of WRs adept at returns, Aron Cruickshank’s road to a roster spot appears to be more of an obstacle course at Halas Hall.
The road to making the 53-man team at WR is more challenging than any time during the last 20 years or more in Chicago, but these athletes are NOT just looking for a roster spot in Chicago. Every time they touch the ball, whether at practice or during a preseason game, they are auditioning for a spot on an NFL roster for any of the league’s 32 teams.
We wish them all well on their journey.
Why do Bears fans always seem to gravitate toward a Free Agent Wide Receiver? And who will it be this year? My early vote goes to Thyrick Pitts from Delaware. List your favorite and reasons why in the comment section. Training Camp begins July 26th at Halas Hall in Lake Forest.
I do remember Gentry… and being angry at whoever it was that got a penalty that nullified his ONLY catch. and being mad at Nagy for not calling his # more often. the Offense was SOOOOOOO bad thou… He wouldn’t have been open anyway.
SOOOOOOO glad N-agy is GONE
Camp darling this season is going to be Travis Bell (DT). Poles LOVES him.
WE always root for a guy that’s going to make our team better and look like geniuses when we can talk about him during the regular season.
Our run D’ was sooooo bad last season that to see an actual DLman get a sack is going to LIGHT A FIRE.
I hope Bell gets like 3 in his 1st pre-season game…and then we’ll love up on him!!
BEAR down
I’m not sure that is not a Nationwide obsession.
Probably based on more airtime given WRs on ESPN.
In RB heyday we had our idols.
New game now
and with the WR attention comes QB discussions
and visa versa
I’m appalled at how wild some speculations are,
and the over-hype by media
and the immediate salivation by the dreamer fans.
OK ginned up significantly by some of us rabid Fantasy fans.
Hopefully the guy we all fall in love with this camp is V. Jones. He needs to show a ton of improvement and make the roster. We may see a few of these other guys in Nov. and Dec. as the war of attrition drags on. I hope they all show well in camp.
At least those long-shots could pressure Jones, Pettis and St. Brown to actually produce. We’ll still need to draft a stud receiver next year because counting on both Claypool and Mooney to step up is pretty iffy.