Down Bear: Moving On From Houston, McPhee Update, Rookie Draft Pick on IR, More
No official announcement has been made regarding the Chicago Bears’ 53-man roster, even though they were due to the NFL at 3 p.m.
We’ve kept track of the cuts with a running list of reported moves by the Bears with a list you can check out here. But player cuts aren’t the only thing going on, as injury updates are flowing today. Let’s dive into another type of roster movement going on today.
Earlier, the Bears received some good news when it was reported Pernell McPhee wasn’t going to start the regular season on the PUP list. It was originally reported by Ian Rapoport of NFL Network that McPhee’s preseason-long knee injury would cause him to miss the season’s first six games, but something changed and allowed the outside linebacker to crack the Week 1 roster. Even if it’s in a limited capacity, it will be nice to have Pernell McPhee – who promised a dominant performance from the Bears’ pass rushers.
Lamarr Houston figured to be in the outside linebacker mix prior to suffering knee injury in the team’s preseason finale, but it doesn’t seem to be in the cards now. The injury doesn’t seem to be a serious one, as Tom Pelissero reports the injury was a minor one with no structural damage found. Still, the injury will push the Bears to place Houston on injured reserve and will work on an injury settlement. Houston was due approximately $6 million in 2017.
Dan Skuta was an offseason addition who was thought to be in play for some time as an outside linebacker won’t make the team out of the preseason. Brad Biggs reports the Bears are dropping Skuta, who was kept out of Thursday’s preseason game against the Cleveland Browns because he was in concussion protocol. If you’ll recall, Skuta was one of five Bears who left the team’s third preseason game early because of health issues.
Offensive lineman Jordan Morgan will be placed on injured reserve, reports Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times. Adam Jahns piles on, adding Morgan was fighting through an injured shoulder. Perhaps we should consider this a redshirt year for the fifth-round pick from Division II Kutztown University. Morgan worked at guard this summer after spending his college years at tackle. Morgan isn’t the most important player the Bears drafted last April, but he’ll need to develop over the next few years to justify his selection on what is a re-tooled offensive line.
We highlighted the Bears’ termination of defensive lineman Jaye Howard’s contract, which came as a bit of a surprise. It’s also worth noting that Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune mentioned Howard’s hip was feeling better. It’s a troublesome injury that has nagged him in recent years and now has led to his release from two teams this calendar year.