The Chicago Bears waived a pair of players who were taking up spots on injured reserve today, parting ways with quarterback Connor Shaw and running back Ka’Deem Carey.
Carey was going to start the season on injured reserve after undergoing wrist surgery that was going to keep him out of action for up to six weeks. He was drafted by Phil Emery in the fourth round (117th overall) in the 2014 NFL Draft after racking up 4,239 rushing yards in three seasons at the University of Arizona. Carey wasn’t used often as a running back during his three years with the Bears, instead carving a role as a special teams ace.
At this time last year, it looked like Carey could get a chance at getting some touches out of the backfield, but Jordan Howard’s emergence pushed him down the depth chart. Between the Bears’ drafting of Tarik Cohen and signing of free agent Benny Cunningham, it’s not surprising Carey’s time has come to an end.
The Bears were set to waive Connor Shaw in late May until an injury to Mark Sanchez caused the team to rescind the move and re-add him to the 90-man preseason roster. Shaw, who suffered a leg injury during the preseason finale against the Cleveland Browns, signed a one-year deal in March back when we believed he was going to serve in some sort of backup capacity. Well, that was before the team decided to bring in Mike Glennon, Mark Sanchez, and Mitch Trubisky.
There was a short-lived moment where there was an argument for Shaw to get an extended look, but those ideas were squashed with how the Bears approached putting together a brand-new quarterbacks room.