NEWSLETTER
While we’re still waiting officially official confirmation of the Khalil Mack trade, the Chicago Bears will be working to trim the 90-player preseason roster to the 53-man group that will open the season.
The race to get these decisions in by 3 p.m. on Saturday is well under way for the Bears and the other 31 teams in the NFL. After the dust settles, the waiver wire process will open up and more player movement could be going down. It should go without saying, but I think the Bears are just getting started on a day that already figured to feature a ton of movement.
We’ll continue to track the Bears’ cuts right here, so keep tabs here as we count down to Saturday’s deadline:
LeBlanc is the biggest name to pop up on the Bears’ cut list. Chicago snagged him off the waiver wire in 2016 after he impressed the team while with the New England Patriots during the joint practices and throughout the preseason. LeBlanc has been a solid slot corner, but Bryce Callahan has that position very much locked down. With LeBlanc out the door, it’s clear the Bears will have some fresh faces in the cornerbacks room.
Like LeBlanc, Timu has been a steady reserve and spot starter on the Bears’ defense. But with Danny Trevathan, Nick Kwiatkoski, Roquan Smith, and Joel Iyiegbuniwe in the fold, keeping a fifth inside linebacker wasn’t in the cards.
Grant was one of the Bears’ best defenders during the preseason, which was capped with a pick-six that provided quite an exclamation point. He could catch on elsewhere.
Thanks for this, Mr. Walker:
Cavon Walker two step.gif pic.twitter.com/UiL16hlYWu
— ⓂarcusD (@_MarcusD2_) August 31, 2018
Gentry was a training camp star in 2017 and the team’s leading receiver during the preseason in 2018. But a revamped position group left Gentry on the outside looking in. Gentry could still find himself on the practice squad if he clears waivers.
The Bears drafted Morgan in the fifth-round out of Division III Kutztown University, but pulled the plug early on converting a four-year starter at tackle into an interior lineman. By drafting Morgan, the Bears passed on some intriguing talents who turned out to be productive rookies including Iowa safety Desmond King (Chargers), Louisiana Tech receiver Trent Taylor (49ers), and UTEP running back Aaron Jones (Packers), among others. Releasing Morgan could mean Rashaad Coward, who was an undrafted free agent who played nose tackle as a rookie in 2017, will make the cut.
Pro Football Talk’s Michael David Smith has the full list of Bears players waived and released on Saturday. Here is everyone who wasn’t mentioned above:
