Ryan Pace has shown an aptitude for bending the rules of the injured reserve list to keep players around that he otherwise would have released.
In recent seasons, we’ve seen the Chicago Bears place players on I.R. during the preseason with injuries that aren’t necessarily season-ending.
Roy Robertson-Harris came to the team as an undrafted outside linebacker from UTEP in 2016. The Bears wanted to convert him to the defensive line but didn’t want other teams to have a shot at the developmental prospect.
He spent his first season on the reserve/non-football illness list for reasons that were never revealed.
In 2017, it was sixth-round pick Jordan Morgan who spent his rookie season on injured reserve with an injury the Bears never announced.
Pace has a handful of candidates he could stash on injured reserve this year, some with injuries more serious than others.
Rashaad Coward
The Bears backup offensive tackle is still a work-in-progress in his transition from collegiate defensive lineman.
Rashaad Coward struggled in the first two preseason games before being sidelined with an elbow injury that’s kept him out of practice ever since.
He’s had some nice blocks in the running game, but his technique in pass protection leaves him vulnerable on the outside of the pocket, and he doesn’t look like a player ready to step into the lineup if the Bears lost a starter.
Matt Nagy kept Coward on the 53-man roster last season, but he hasn’t made significant, visible progress from where he was last preseason.
He could use another year of development, and injured reserve would be a safer hiding spot than trying to stash him on the practice squad.
Stephen Denmark
Stephen Denmark suffered an ankle injury early in Bears training camp, and he hasn’t really been heard from since.
It’s as clear a sign as any that Ryan Pace intends to hid him on injured reserve, although it’s unlikely any team would give the developmental cornerback a spot on their roster after not seeing him all preseason.
Denmark made the switch to cornerback in his final season of college after playing wide receiver his whole career, but the Bears believed in his potential enough to use a draft pick on him.
They likely aren’t ready to give up on him, and injured reserve is the easy way to keep him around all year.
T.J. Clemmings
Matt Nagy announced Monday that backup offensive lineman T.J. Clemmings would be out for the season with the leg injury he suffered Saturday against the Indianapolis Colts.
The injury looked severe, and he should be placed on injured reserve soon. The benefit of that designation for the Bears is it prevents him from coming back later in the season and playing for another team.
If his leg is able to recover before the final month of the year, Chicago could designate him to return from injured reserve, but that possibility seems unlikely at this point.
Clemmings is compiling a bit of an injury history, but this way, the Bears can keep him around heading into next offseason.
Joshua Simmons
Just after training camp began, the Bears waived cornerback Joshua Simmons with an undisclosed injury. The undrafted rookie cleared waivers and reverted to injured reserve.
The roster move slipped through the transaction log with little attention, but it was quietly an early move to stash a young player for next year.
Simmons played college at Division-II Limestone College, where current Bears wide receivers coach Mike Furrey used to be the head coach.
That was the connection that brought Simmons to Chicago, and it’s likely why the team is keeping him around on injured reserve rather than letting him loose to continue his career elsewhere.
He may not ever amount to a productive NFL career, but the Bears and his former coach aren’t done seeing what he’s capable of in their secondary.
Rashard Fant
Rashard Fant has been through this before with the Bears.
He was an undrafted rookie free agent cornerback out of Indiana last year who was placed on injured reserve with an undisclosed injury at the end of last preseason.
This time around, Fant didn’t even make it to training camp before being wavied/injured back in May, which reverted him to the physically unable to perform list.
That should turn into a spot on injured reserve if Fant wants to stick around for another season, and the Bears seem to see enough in him to keep him involved with the organization.
He’s the longest of long-shots to ever stick on the roster, but Ryan Pace could have let him go long ago if they didn’t see value in him.
