The Chicago Bears’ roster shuffle continued in the wake of right guard Kyle Long’s (official) placement on injured reserve.
Here’s the latest:
#Bears roster moves:
We have placed OL Kyle Long on IR.
We also have signed DL Abdullah Anderson from the practice squad to the active roster and have signed TE Dax Raymond to the practice squad.— Chicago Bears (@BearsPR) October 14, 2019
Chicago promoted defensive lineman Abdullah Anderson from the practice squad to the active roster, which fills the spot vacated by Long’s move to injured reserve. Sliding into that open spot on the practice squad is tight end Dax Raymond, an undrafted rookie who was one of the more talented prospects at his position from the 2019 draft class (but one who still needs work before getting to where he needs to be to make an active NFL roster).
As it stands, the Bears now have seven tight ends on the active roster and practice squad. That seems like a lot, doesn’t it? There are five on the active roster (Trey Burton, Adam Shaheen, J.P. Holtz, Bradley Sowell, and Ben Braunecker) and two on the practice squad (Raymond, Jesper Horsted).
Clearly, the Bears aren’t getting what they want from the position and feel like attacking the problem with bulk is the right plan. We’ll see how this group shakes out, as we know the Bears haven’t been shy about rotating through their options and shuttling them on and off the active roster.
It is a bit of a surprise to see the Bears move a defensive lineman (Anderson) onto the active roster after shutting down an offensive lineman (Long). But after watching Josh Jacobs and the Bears running game gash the Bears in London last week, bulking up at the line of scrimmage is a smart play. Also, it is possible the move to add Anderson instead of an offensive lineman such as Alex Bars to the mix suggests that reserve offensive lineman Ted Larsen is feeling better after a knee injury kept him from traveling to London altogether and sidelined him for the game.