With rosters set yesterday, the practice squad groups are getting finalized today around the NFL. For the Bears, it means a whole lot of familiar faces.
Indeed, 15 of the 16 players just announced on the practice squad were with the Bears in camp this year:
• QB Tyler Bray
• RB Artavis Pierce
• WR Rodney Adams
• WR Reggie Davis
• WR Thomas Ives
• TE Jesper Horsted
• OL Jamon Brown
• OL Sam Mustipher
• OL Lachavious Simmons
• OL Badara Traore
• DL LaCale London
• DL Abdullah Anderson
• LB Rashad Smith
• CB Xavier Crawford
• CB Stephen Denmark
• PK Cairo Santos
Only offensive lineman Jamon Brown is a truly new addition, having just been released by the Falcons last month. The 27-year-old former third rounder is a guard by trade, securing a nice contract with the Falcons before the 2019 season. It didn’t go well, as he wound up a back-up for much of the year and was ultimately released. For the Bears, he’s necessary interior line depth, and a nice guy to have on the practice squad. Brown came in last week for a tryout.
The rest of the group, including QB3 Tyler Bray and could-wind-up-starting PK Cairo Santos are familiar names.
(Rules in the new CBA and considerations taken because of the COVID-19 pandemic expanded practice squad rosters. In addition to more spots on the NFL’s taxi squad, the league also relaxed rules on players with X amount of accrued seasons. So if you’re curious as to why there are more names than you might otherwise be used to, there’s your answer.)
Luis Medina contributed to this post.