The Chicago Bears were defeated by the Indianapolis Colts, 24-17, in a game that featured mostly reserves as Justin Fields and the starters were held out after a week of joint practices.
There have been a number of standout players and intriguing roster battles through training camp and Chicago’s preseason loss against Indianapolis.
While there are a number of roster spots all but locked up at this point, there have been some under-the-radar players making their case for a spot. And following some impressive outings on Saturday, that’s reflected in our latest projections.
With the second preseason game in the books, here’s our updated 53-man roster prediction.
(Salary cap information from Spotrac)
Quarterback (3)
Tyson Bagent has brought the pressure on P.J. Walker for the QB2 role. If Chicago elects to keep Bagent, that could require keeping three quarterbacks on the active roster. But if Walker struggles and Bagent has another strong preseason outing in the finale, it might just be Justin Fields and Bagent in our projections.
QB Justin Fields
Age: 24
Experience: 3rd season
2023 cap hit: $5.14 million
QB P.J. Walker
Age: 28
Experience: 4th season
2023 cap hit: $1.66 million
QB Tyson Bagent
Age: 23
Experience: 1st season
2023 cap hit: $758,333
Running back (4)
No surprises at running back here with Khalil Herbert, D’Onta Foreman and Roschon Johnson. That fourth spot will come down to Travis Homer or Trestan Ebner. And considering Ebner’s been sidelined by injury, Homer gets the nod.
RB Khalil Herbert
Age: 25
Experience: 3rd season
2023 cap hit: $972,677
RB D'Onta Foreman
Age: 27
Experience: 6th season
2023 cap hit: $2 million
RB Roschon Johnson
Age: 22
Experience: 1st season
2023 cap hit: $942,172
RB Travis Homer
Age: 24
Experience: 5th season
2023 cap hit: $1.77 million
Fullback (1)
There’s no question that Khari Blasingame is the Bears’ lead blocker heading into the season. No matter how impressive undrafted rookie Robert Burns could look.
FB Khari Blasingame
Age: 27
Experience: 5th season
2023 cap hit: $2 million
Wide receiver (6)
At this point, the top four wide receivers are set with DJ Moore, Darnell Mooney, Chase Claypool and rookie Tyler Scott. That likely leaves two roster spots between Velus Jones Jr., Equanimeous St. Brown and Dante Pettis. While Jones is currently sidelined by injury, he gets the edge right now over Pettis.
WR DJ Moore
Age: 26
Experience: 6th season
2023 cap hit: $20.16 million
WR Darnell Mooney
Age: 25
Experience: 4th season
2023 cap hit: $3.06 million
WR Chase Claypool
Age: 25
Experience: 4th season
2023 cap hit: $2.99 million
WR Tyler Scott
Age: 21
Experience: 1st season
2023 cap hit: $915,863
WR Equanimeous St. Brown
Age: 26
Experience: 5th season
2023 cap hit: $1.16 million
WR Velus Jones Jr.
Age: 26
Experience: 2nd season
2023 cap hit: $1.22 million
Tight end (3)
The top three tight ends are set with Cole Kmet, Robert Tonyan and Marcedes Lewis, who give the Bears a potent combination of blocking and pass catchers. This is the best Chicago’s tight end group has been in years.
TE Cole Kmet
Age: 24
Experience: 4th season
2023 cap hit: $7.36 million
TE Robert Tonyan
Age: 29
Experience: 6th season
2023 cap hit: $2.65 million
TE Marcedes Lewis
Age: 39
Experience: 18th season
2023 cap hit: $2 million
Offensive line (9)
The starting offensive line is set with Braxton Jones, Teven Jenkins, Cody Whitehair, Nate Davis and rookie Darnell Wright. With the way training camp has gone, the reserves appear all but set with Lucas Patrick, Ja’Tyre Carter, Larry Borom and Alex Leatherwood.
NOTE: According to Brad Biggs, Jenkins is dealing with a leg injury that could cause him to miss six weeks. If that’s the case, the expectation is the Bears will bring in a veteran to fill that roster spot — and his starting job.
OL Braxton Jones
Age: 24
Experience: 2nd season
2023 cap hit: $944,888
OL Teven Jenkins
Age: 25
Experience: 3rd season
2023 cap hit: $2.28 million
OL Cody Whitehair
Age: 31
Experience: 8th season
2023 cap hit: $14.1 million
OL Nate Davis
Age: 26
Experience: 5th season
2023 cap hit: $6.92 million
OL Darnell Wright
Age: 21
Experience: 1st season
2023 cap hit: $3.81 million
OL Lucas Patrick
Age: 30
Experience: 7th season
2023 cap hit: $5.38 million
OL Ja'Tyre Carter
Age: 24
Experience: 2nd season
2023 cap hit: $897,328
OL Larry Borom
Age: 24
Experience: 3rd season
2023 cap hit: $1.02 million
OL Alex Leatherwood
Age: 24
Experience: 3rd season
2023 cap hit: $1.96 million
Defensive line (9)
This is where things will get interesting during final roster cutdowns. The Bears are expected to keep nine defensive linemen — and there are several with versatility down the line. While they could reasonably keep 10, I’m sticking with nine given Bagent takes up that extra roster spot. In this scenario, Trevis Gipson and Terrell Lewis, who have been impressing this preseason, get the edge over veteran addition Rasheem Green.
DL Yannick Ngakoue
Age: 28
Experience: 9th season
2023 cap hit: $10.44 million
DL DeMarcus Walker
Age: 28
Experience: 7th season
2023 cap hit: $6.41 million
DL Dominique Robinson
Age: 25
Experience: 2nd season
2023 cap hit: $938,289
DL Trevis Gipson
Age: 26
Experience: 4th season
2023 cap hit: $2.82 million
DL Terrell Lewis
Age: 24
Experience: 4th season
2023 cap hit: $1.01 million
DL Justin Jones
Age: 26
Experience: 6th season
2023 cap hit: $7.4 million
DL Andrew Billings
Age: 28
Experience: 6th season
2023 cap hit: $2.69 million
DL Gervon Dexter Sr.
Age: 21
Experience: 1st season
2023 cap hit: $1.22 million
DL Zacch Pickens
Age: 23
Experience: 1st season
2023 cap hit: $1.04 million
Linebacker (5)
The Bears overhauled the linebacker room this offseason, and their top four appear all but set with Tremaine Edmunds, T.J. Edwards, Jack Sanborn and rookie Noah Sewell. Which leaves us with one more spot. There are some interesting names on the roster, including veterans Mykal Walker and Dylan Cole. But undrafted rookie Micah Baskerville has made the most of his opportunities this summer. And we saw last year, with Sanborn, that this regime rewards production.
LB Tremaine Edmunds
Age: 25
Experience: 6th season
2023 cap hit: $14.68 million
LB T.J. Edwards
Age: 26
Experience: 5th season
2023 cap hit: $5 million
LB Jack Sanborn
Age: 23
Experience: 2nd season
2023 cap hit: $872,500
LB Noah Sewell
Age: 21
Experience: 1st season
2023 cap hit: $831,237
LB Micah Baskerville
Age: 23
Experience: 1st season
2023 cap hit: $753,333
Cornerback (6)
Chicago has its top four cornerbacks set with veterans Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon, as well as rookies Tyrique Stevenson and Terell Smith, currently battling for a starting job. Josh Blackwell secures a spot here given his experience as a nickel cornerback. Meanwhile, Kindle Vildor’s stock has fallen and Jaylon Jones gets my final nod.
CB Jaylon Johnson
Age: 24
Experience: 4th season
2023 cap hit: $3.55 million
CB Kyler Gordon
Age: 23
Experience: 2nd season
2023 cap hit: $1.97 million
CB Tyrique Stevenson
Age: 23
Experience: 1st season
2023 cap hit: $1.17 million
CB Terell Smith
Age: 24
Experience: 1st season
2023 cap hit: $818,971
CB Josh Blackwell
Age: 24
Experience: 2nd season
2023 cap hit: $870,000
CB Jaylon Jones
Age: 25
Experience: 2nd season
2023 cap hit: $870,833
Safety (4)
The duo of Eddie Jackson and Jaquan Brisker are back this season, giving the Bears one of the best safety pairings in the NFL. Elijah Hicks is stepping into that DeAndre Houston-Carson role, where he’ll serve as a key reserve and special teams contributor. As for that fourth and final spot, A.J. Thomas has been making plays this summer, and he gets the nod.
S Eddie Jackson
Age: 29
Experience: 7th season
2023 cap hit: $17.09 million
S Jaquan Brisker
Age: 24
Experience: 2nd season
2023 cap hit: $1.67 million
S Elijah Hicks
Age: 23
Experience: 2nd season
2023 cap hit: $889,252
S A.J. Thomas
Age: 23
Experience: 2nd season
2023 cap hit: $870,000
Special teams (3)
Undrafted rookie Andre Szmyt has already been waived, so there’s no kicker competition with Cairo Santos. Santos returns with Trenton Gill and Patrick Scales to headline the specialists group.
K Cairo Santos
Age: 31
Experience: 10th season
2023 cap hit: $4.5 million
P Trenton Gill
Age: 24
Experience: 2nd season
2023 cap hit: $889,252
LS Patrick Scales
Age: 35
Experience: 9th season
2023 cap hit: $1.09 million
