NEWSLETTER
The Chicago Bears are tweaking their 53-man roster, which adds a little bit of intrigue to your Monday afternoon.
Check it out:
#Bears roster move:
We have waived DL Abdullah Anderson.— Chicago Bears (@BearsPR) September 30, 2019
Defensive lineman Abdullah Anderson played 22 snaps in the Bears’ Week 4 win over the Vikings this weekend, so perhaps the team is holding out hope it can stash him on the practice squad. But in the meantime, he’s been waived, which opens a roster spot (and a bit of a mystery).
The logical step would be to promote quarterback Tyler Bray from the practice squad to the active roster, especially now that Mitch Trubisky’s injured non-throwing shoulder will likely keep him off the field this coming Sunday. After all, Chicago does not have a third-string quarterback on its roster at this moment. And had things gone sideways for the Bears during Sunday’s win, Head Coach Matt Nagy said Trey Burton would have been the team’s emergency quarterback if Chase Daniel would have gone down with an injury. I imagine the Bears would like to avoid a situation where their top pass-catching tight end option is under center, so it would make sense to add another quarterback onto the roster.
Of course, moving Anderson off the roster could also be viewed as an encouraging sign for defensive lineman Akiem Hicks, who sat out Sunday’s win with a knee injury. Hicks was “literally a game-time decision” according to Nagy, but because Hicks wasn’t totally ready, the decision was made to sit him out. If Hicks truly was close to suiting up and playing last Sunday, it is possible that the week off could have positioned him to be ready for the upcoming game against the Raiders (and beyond).
We will continue to monitor the Bears’ roster churn, as well as updates regarding injured players who could make their way back to the roster sooner, rather than later.
