The Chicago Bears made a minor roster move on Wednesday, adding an offensive lineman to the team’s practice squad, well sorta.
One day after the Baltimore Ravens swooped in and snagged offensive tackle Dieugot Joseph from the Bears’ practice squad and signed him to their active roster, Chicago replaced him by signing former TE and current offensive lineman D.J. Tialavea.
And Tialavea, who was one of 16 players who showed up for tryouts on Tuesday at Halas Hall, has traveled a winding road to arrive in Chicago.
After playing his college ball at Utah State, where he played 40 games and caught five touchdowns, Tialavea signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars as an undrafted free agent in 2014, moved on to the Buffalo Bills’ practice squad later that September, and eventually signed with the Falcons’ practice squad in November 2015. After spending the better part of two years on the Atlanta Falcons practice squad, Tialavea was promoted to the active roster in December 2016, made his debut two days later, and caught a touchdown pass against the Carolina Panthers.
This summer, Tialavea has made the transition from tight end to offensive tackle with the Atlanta Falcons, and now he’ll try to make it with the Chicago Bears.
The Bears have now signed two players who tried out on Tuesday to their practice squad, with defensive lineman Mike Purcell being the first. By adding Tialavea to the mix, the Bears’ practice squad roster has filled nine of its 10 available spots.