The Bears got an early jump on trimming their roster from 80 to 53 by waiving six players before practice Thursday morning.
None of the six were expected to be in contention for a roster spot: running back Napoleon Maxwell, wide receiver Alex Wesley, wide receiver Ahmad Wagner, offensive lineman Corey Levin, defensive lineman Lee Autry, linebacker Keandre Jones.
That gets the Bears to 74 players. They have until Saturday at 3 p.m. to finalize their roster.
Any of their cuts could be added to the newly expanded practice squad, which now has 16 spots. The NFL and NFLPA agreed to a larger squad, with four players protected per week, as a contingency in case players on the roster are ruled out by testing positive for coronavirus.
