Here Come the Cuts, Velus and Kyler Return, Loving Long-shots, Large Lincoln, and Other Bears Bullets

Aug 16, 2022

The overwhelming support and condolences I received from so many of you yesterday online did so much to get me through the day. Thank you. Let’s talk some football. That’ll help a little, too.

An eyebrow-raising trade came across my path while browsing through league-wide news this morning with the Eagles trading JJ Arcega-Whiteside to the Seahawks defensive back Ugo Amadi. On the surface, it looks like a dump of a failed pick. But more than that, this appears to be a swap of players who might’ve been on the chopping block today. Let’s keep in mind that NFL rosters have to be cut from 90 to 85 by 3 p.m. CT. And trades like this allow teams to get a jump on the market and avoid possibly losing a player they like to a team ahead of them on the waiver wire. I wonder if we’ll see any more deals like this before the afternoon’s deadline comes.

Bumping this to drive home a point:

A reminder that the NFL is back to multiple cutdown dates after the last few years of going with just one big cut.

Dates to keep in mind:

🗓 Aug. 16 — Rosters down to 85
🗓 Aug. 23 — Rosters down to 80
🗓 Aug. 30 — Rosters down to 53

All deadlines are at 3 PM CT.— Bleacher Nation Bears (@BN_Bears) August 15, 2022

Considering injuries the Bears have at receiver, part of me wonders if Arcega-Whiteside was on their radar at all. A second-round pick in 2019, Arcega-Whiteside was yet another whiff of a pick by Philly at the receiver position. That he was taken ahead of DK Metcalf and Terry McLaurin probably stings Eagles fans a ton. And because we’ve already seen the Bears bring in a change-of-scenery candidate at receiver (N’Keal Harry), I suppose we can’t rule out the possibility of Chicago checking in — if only because that bottom-third of the roster churn never ends.

Oh, and the Bears already got one cut in the books in waiving defensive lineman Carson Taylor.

Kevin Fishbain (The Athletic) made note that Kyler Gordon, Velus Jones Jr., David Montgomery, and Cole Kmet were among the Bears players returning to practice on Monday. That collection of talent was on the sidelines for Saturday’s preseason game. While seeing Kmet and Montgomery get the green light, it was most encouraging to see updates on Gordon and Jones getting back into the fray.

Unfortunately, neither rookie gave updates regarding their respective injuries:

Kyler Gordon on whether his injury absences this spring and summer are becoming a trend: "Honestly, I'm not concerned about it at all. Like, I definitely want to be out there. But I know how to take care of those things. I don’t think it’s going to be a problem."— Dan Wiederer (@danwiederer) August 15, 2022

Velus Jones on the specifics of the injury that kept him out for more than a week plus the preseason opener: "Y’all can take that up with coach."— Dan Wiederer (@danwiederer) August 15, 2022

A tip of the cap to the rookies for showing a veteran’s skill level in passing-the-buck. Well done!

Josh Schrock (NBC Sports Chicago) explores how Jones and Gordon kept sharp while missing practice. It’s not an easy task. And I imagine it is that much more difficult when you’re a rookie and haven’t done it before. I’m looking forward to seeing more positive progress updates. But merely having them available for practice is a nice first step.

In addition to missing time during training camp, Gordon – Chicago’s first second-round pick lat April – was also out of action for a chunk of OTAs and minicamps. Getting him up to speed for one of the last two preseason games (if not both) should be a priority. I’m not as worried about Jones in that regard, especially since the Bears had him anywhere and everywhere during post-draft OTAs and minicamps. Getting him back with that first-team offense in an exhibition affair on Thursday in Seattle would be another step in the right direction.

The Bears didn’t have a first-round pick in last April’s draft, so – as Patrick Finley underscores in his latest at the Sun-Times – it would behoove Chicago’s football team to get its second-rounders (Gordon and Brisker) into a good place ahead of the season.

What if Dazz Newsome becomes a thing? He’ll need to be more than just a return ace in order to make this team. If he can find his way into Justin Fields’ good graces, make plays in practice, and show up with splash plays in games, then he’s got a shot to make it. More of this, please:

Play of the day from Bears practice: Justin Fields' deep ball over the middle to WR Dazz Newsome. We had the behind-the-play view and the pass went through traffic and suddenly there was Dazz coming down with it. Pretty pass, impressive catch.— Kevin Fishbain (@kfishbain) August 15, 2022

Sigh. It was a bummer to see updates regarding the offensive line struggling. But hey, that’s going to happen from time to time. Sometimes, you’re the bug. And other times, you’re the windshield. Judging by these tweets, the Bears OL were bug splatter after yesterday’s practice:

They don’t call sacks in practice really. But both would have been sacks in games. Or at least really damn close.
— Zack Pearson (@Zack_Pearson) August 15, 2022

Not a good team drill here for first team. Given up 3-4 “sacks”. Two given up each by Jones and Reiff.

Note: They don’t stop the play for these sacks. #Bears— Zack Pearson (@Zack_Pearson) August 15, 2022

I’m intrigued about Teven Jenkins getting some burn at right guard. More on that later today.

For more from Halas Hall, Brad Biggs (Tribune), Kevin Fishbain and Adam Jahns (The Athletic), and Josh Schrock (NBCS Chicago) had eyes on Monday’s practice.

I’m not sure if I’ll make it out to the final practice that is open to the public on Sunday. But if I do, I’m making a beeline to this guy:

There’s a giant Abraham Lincoln mascot at #Bears camp today pic.twitter.com/ZW42s6tpVR
— Patrick Finley (@patrickfinley) August 15, 2022

Seeing these interactions again has been an absolute highlight of the summer:

On the field 😤
Off the field 🤗 pic.twitter.com/9a6S4eDmlv
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) August 15, 2022

If the USFL has sent players to this many NFL training camps, we can view this re-boot as a success (right?):

Here is every NFL team that has signed a USFL player so far 🙌 pic.twitter.com/jrS8YaGNKL
— USFL (@USFL) August 15, 2022

It wasn’t me:

Someone Actually Just Bet on the Chicago Cubs to Win the 2022 World Serieshttps://t.co/GbuYstFiD4 pic.twitter.com/v3O6y16XJS
— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) August 15, 2022

And if you’re curious, the Bears are among the longest long-shots to win everything you’d want them to win. They’re 150/1 to win the Super Bowl via the DraftKings Sports Book, which has them with the Lions and Seahawks. Only the Falcons (200/1) and Texans (250/1) are seen as less likely to win the title. Notable: The Bears have seven games against six teams who have 100/1 odds or worse to win the Super Bowl. Maybe the Bears can leverage that into some surprising success in 2022?

Seeing the Bears’ win total over/under at 5.5 wins now after seeing it at 7 wins earlier in the offseason (I placed a wager on the win total then it was 7 on April 29 — it dropped to 6.5 on May 12, leading me to make another investment) says a lot about the public’s dwindling perception of the current state of the Bears:

With NFL preseason in full effect, we're asking: Will the Chicago Bears 🐻🐻🐻 win over or under 5.5 games this season?

(Odds via @FDSportsbook)
— The Ringer (@ringer) August 15, 2022

The NBA’s Christmas schedule leaked over the weekend, and the Bulls were left out (again). On the one hand, I love watching the Bulls in primetime on island games. But on the other hand, at least they’ll get to spend Christmas with their families. So … take THAT!

The ghosts of NHL Drafts past continue to haunt the Blackhawks:

Five Wasted Drafts Still Haunting the #Blackhawks https://t.co/2PPCzFXnWP pic.twitter.com/n9Ne8pLU7I
— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) August 15, 2022

written by

Luis C. Medina

Luis C. Medina, who you can find on Twitter at lcm1986, has been covering the Chicago Bears at Bleacher Nation since 2017. Since then, he has written about 3 head coaches, 5 play-callers, and 11 starting quarterbacks. Previously, Luis wrote about the Cubs and MLB at BN (2015-16) and worked in the Chicago Tribune sports department (2011-16). He also co-hosted a Cubs postgame show, Outside the Ivy, in 2019.

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Here Come the Cuts, Velus and Kyler Return, Loving Long-shots, Large Lincoln, and Other Bears Bullets

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