Predicting Bears 53-Man Roster Offense |
Now that the preseason has come and gone, the Chicago Bears can focus on the real task at hand: prepping for the regular season. Granted, they still have roughly two weeks until the start of the regular season, but that shouldn't take away from the work that needs to be done from now until then.
Not only are the next two weeks important for working out all of the kinks to be ready for week one, but the next few days are also crucial as teams start to figure out who makes this team and who doesn't. For the most part, the Bears have a great idea of who will be on their Roster come week one, but some position battles are making things interesting. Nonetheless, the ones who don't make the roster will most likely be given an opportunity to be on the Bears' practice squad, as this team hopes to have one of the deepest rosters in the game. Here is the opening-week roster projection for the offense:
One of the easiest decisions on this Roster was who the starting QB would be. You knew that barring an injury, Caleb Williams would be the starter once he was drafted. Since that day, he has shown a lot of potential, and most of his potential appears to be good. Behind him was the real question, as Tyson Bagent and Brett Rypien were battling it out for the backup job. You could make the case that both players deserved the backup spot, as they played equally well during the preseason. However, this came down to experience and overall familiarity with the system, which is why Bagent gets the nod. However, with the NFL adopting a new rule allowing teams to have an emergency third-string quarterback and not have them count against a roster spot, look for Rypien to stick around and be that guy. Chicago can sign him to the practice squad to keep him in the organization and use him as their emergency man if needed.
Like the QB room and most of the offensive positions, for that matter, the starters and the overall backups appeared to be set in stone before the preseason. Beyond that, the questions came into play, and the RB room is where the first real question was. Take Swift and Herbert out of the mix, the Bears had four RBs battling it out for the final two spots. Johnson didn't have a great rookie season or a preseason, but since it is his second year, he may get the third-string nod by default. That leaves Travis Homer, Ian Wheeler (torn ACL), and Jones Jr. as the final option for the final spot. Homer makes a lot of sense, given his NFL experience, but he may want to look for a better opportunity to get more playing time. Wheeler showed a ton of promise throughout the preseason but is injured. That leaves Jones Jr. as the final RB for the 2024 season. After making the move from WR to RB late in camp, Jones showed plenty of potential and showed the coaching staff a lot last week. Some people are comparing this to the Cordarrelle Patterson move when he made the switch. Given the playmaking abilities of Jones Jr, Chicago wants him on this Roster.
Take the top four off this list. As there were shoe-ins for the roster, there were a lot of questions as to who could lock down the final spots. Jones Jr. made some sense, but his move to RB opened the door for other players. Pettis had a great preseason, and when he was on the field last year, he proved he could be a decent weapon. Webster and D'Andre Carter were long shots to make this team, but both came into camp as potential special teams options. Carter may have the nod due to his kick-returning abilities. Webster recently landed on the injured list after being injured in the last preseason game.
This was the one area on offense where there were no surprises up to this point. Kmet and Everett will be the Bears primary options with Lewis being used as the blocking TE or even a potential red zone threat. However, Tommy Sweeney made a great case to make this Roster or, at the very least, be on the practice squad when you look at the preseason he had. Instead, the Bears chose to terminate his contract, which all but showed the fans who would be on this roster come opening week for TEs.
The Bears offensive line must do its part to keep Williams upright and healthy this season. For the most part, this unit has performed well and stayed healthy, but their depth will be questioned with some recent injuries toward the end of the preseason. Jones, Jenkins, Wright, Bates, and Davis are expected to be the starters this season, but don't count out Pryor as an option. Had Larry Borom not gotten hurt in the final preseason game, he would have been a lock on this Roster, bumping a guy like Pryor or Shelton out. With him out of the picture, look for Bill Murray as a potential fringe guy making this team, as the Bears will have plenty of offensive depth this season. Quarterback (2): Caleb Williams and Tyson Bagent
Running Back (5): D'Andre Swift, Khalil Herbert, Roschon Johnson, Khari Blasingame (FB), and Velus Jones Jr.
Wide Receiver (6): DJ Moore, Keenan Allen, Rome Odunze, Tyler Scott, Dante Pettis and DeAndre Carter
Tight Ends (3): Cole Kmet, Gerald Everett and Mercedes Lewis
Offensive Line (8): Braxton Jones, Ryan Bates, Teven Jenkins, Nate Davis, Darnell Wright, Coleman Shelton, Matt Pryor, and Kiran Amegadjie
