The Chicago Bears’ tight end carousel went on a spin Tuesday, with the latest news coming with a new addition to the team:
We have promoted TE Ben Braunecker to our active roster and signed Colin Thompson to our practice squad. We have placed Zach Miller on IR. #DaBears
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) November 7, 2017
Colin Thompson played his college ball at Temple, where he was primarily used as a blocker. Over the span of three years there, he caught just 19 passes for 208 yards and a touchdown in 36 games, but was rated as the top high school tight end back in 2012. He seemed to be in a good spot with the New York Giants this summer. Back in May, Thompson called New York “the right fit” and saw himself as a block-first “Y” counterpart to fellow rookie Evan Engram’s “H” position, which is more balanced, but has more pass-catching responsibilities.
Unfortunately for Thompson, he was sidelined with an emergency appendectomy and didn’t break camp with the Giants. He’ll turn to Chicago’s practice squad to get his career back on track while Zach Miller goes to injured reserve.
Earlier in the day, the Bears called up Harvard product Ben Braunecker to the 53-man roster. Braunecker played 13 games as a rookie in 2016 and even made two starts. Based on last year’s usage, it would be wrong to expect Braunecker stepping into a role as a major contributor. Braunecker played 10 offensive snaps or fewer in eight of 13 games and never played more than 50 percent of the offense’s snaps.