With the NFL’s deadline to trim rosters coming at 3 p.m. CT on Saturday, we have begun to see teams move toward finalizing their 53-man groups.
For instance, the Chicago Bears announced a handful of cuts on Thursday morning:
• RB Napoleon Maxwell
• WR Alex Wesley
• WR Ahmad Wagner
• OL Corey Levin
• DL Lee Autry
• LB Keandre Jones
Maxwell, Wagner, Autry, and Jones were part of the Bears’ class of undrafted free agent rookies. Levin was signed off the Broncos’ practice squad in November, but never checked into a game. Wesley signed onto the Bears practice squad in late December 2019, but never made his way onto the active roster.
There are no surprise cuts among those who were waived on Thursday. However, the Maxwell cut is something of an eyebrow-raiser. Not that I expected Maxwell to make the season-opening roster, but the Bears’ running backs room is a bit light on healthy bodies with David Montgomery (groin injury) on the mend. Maybe this means Montgomery is on a path to recovery for Week 1. Or perhaps this suggests the Bears could look to add another back before the season opener. It could mean nothing. After all, Head Coach Matt Nagy said he was comfortable with his collection of backs.
The Bears’ roster is down to 74 players, which means 21 cuts are still to come.