The Bears, along with the rest of the NFL teams, are starting to finish up their preseason and head towards the regular season. The first cuts will be coming on August 31 as teams must take their rosters down to 75 players. The second and biggest round of cuts comes September 4, when rosters are trimmed to 53 players for the regular season. Needless to say, some players are getting nervous as we move closer to the regular season.
The Bears aren’t any different from any other team out there. They have to cut some players as well, and some of these cuts may end up being very difficult to make while some of them may be pretty simple. It’s up to the coaching staff to make these decisions for the betterment of the team.
The Bears have 76 players on their roster right now and have to trim it down to 53. Let’s take a look at the players on the bubble and try to determine who will stay and who will go.
Offense
Quarterbacks
On the bubble: Dan LeFevour, Caleb Hanie
The Bears will keep three quarterbacks going into the new season. You can bet that Jay Cutler and Todd Collins will be two of them. Will they want to keep LeFevour because of his draft status or Hanie because of his experience? Who’s out? Hanie.
Running Backs
On the bubble: Kahlil Bell, Garrett Wolfe, Brandon Minor (Harvey Unga is on injured reserve).
The biggest battle here has been between Bell and Wolfe for that third running back spot, and so far Wolfe has proven himself to be the better back of the two. This race is really close to call but believe it or not, the Bears may have more value with Wolfe than they do with Bell. So who’s out? Bell and Minor.
Fullbacks/H-Back
On the bubble: Will Ta’ufo’ou, Eddie Williams
With Desmond Clark pretty much a lock to play the H-Back position, you can look for the Bears to keep one more player to help back him up and play the “true”
fullback position. Ta’ufo’ou has looked much better in preseason, but his recent sprained knee (suffered in the game against the Cardinals) may seal his fate and keep Williams on the roster. Who’s out? Ta’ufo’ou.
Wide Receiver
On the bubble: Freddie Barnes, Greg Matthews
If the Bears decide to keep six wide receivers, then Earl Bennett will make this team. The other three remaining players just haven’t shown enough in training camp but could wind up getting on the practice squad. Who’s out? Barnes and Matthews.
Tight Ends
On the bubble: Richard Angulo
Depending on how they view the tight end position in regards to Desmond Clark, the Bears should decide to keep two or three tight ends. Assuming that they keep three, Angulo would be the odd man out of this equation. Who’s out? Angulo.
Centers
On the bubble: Tim Walter
Olin Kreutz is a given and Josh Beekman can play guard as well. Walter was a good developmental prospect, but he won’t make the team. Who’s out? Walter.
Guards
On the bubble: Johan Asiata
The Bears will have Roberto Garza, Lance Louis, and Josh Beekman at the guard position and may want to keep Asiata as extra insurance. Four guards may seem like a lot, but with an underachieving offensive line, the Bears will need all the help that they can get. Who’s out? No one.
Offensive Tackles
On the bubble: Levi Horn, James Martens, J’Marcus Webb
The Bears have three tackles that they will keep for sure, and they will probably keep one more. It’s likely they will want to keep J’Marcus Webb on the roster not only to develop him further (he has been very promising this preseason) but to also keep another team from snapping him off of their practice squad. Martens could be the practice squad candidate. Who’s out? Martens and Horn.
Defensive End
On the bubble: Barry Turner
The Bears are likely to carry four defensive ends going into the season so this pretty much leaves Turner out. It also depends some on what they classify Jarron Gilbert as. For this article, we have included him as a defensive tackle. Who’s out? Turner.
Defensive Tackles
On the bubble: Jarron Gilbert, Matt Toeaina, Mick Williams
Toeaina may end making this team if the Bears decide to keep five defensive tackles (which they almost have to). Gilbert’s status is still a little bit up in the air but he has had a disappointing training camp and has not outplayed anyone by any means. He could see his last game as a Bear this Thursday night against the Browns. Who’s out? Gilbert and Williams.
Linebacker
On the bubble: Brian Iwuh, Kevin Malast, Tim Shaw, Kelvin Smith
The Bears may want to keep six linebackers so this means that one of these guys has to go. Rumor has it that last year’s special teams ace Tim Shaw may end up being one of the odd men out in this, but it’s hard to see the Bears getting rid of one of their best special teams players.
One problem may be that Shaw isn’t a good linebacker (or as good as some of the others that are close to being cut) and this may hurt his chances of making the team. Who’s out? Shaw, Malast, and Smith.
Cornerbacks
On the bubble: Cornelius Brown, Woodny Turenne
The Bears should keep six cornerbacks on the roster this season so that means that guys like Tim Jennings and D.J. Moore should make the roster. Those remaining, Brown and Turenne, just haven’t shown enough to make the roster this season. Who’s out? Brown and Turenne.
Safeties
On the bubble: Josh Bullocks, Quentin Scott, Aaron Webster
With Bullocks, this is a tough decision. He really hasn’t had much of a chance to show what he’s got in training camp due to an injury so his status is a little bit up in the air. Scott and Webster may be good practice squad candidates. Who’s out? Scott and Webster.
Special Teams
On the bubble: None.
The Chicago Bears 2010 squad my look like a work in progress, but the organization as a whole has been a work in progress ever since George Halas turned over the reins of the team to his grandson Michael in 1983.
Chicago has one of the most underutilized NFL brands in the entire league, reports Forbes Magazine. The magazine values the franchise at about $1.07 billion, or ninth on the list of 32 teams. They are by far the lowest valued large-market franchise.
Analysts say the team could be worth about $800 million more if they ran their business correctly and identified new revenue streams the way more successful owner like Jerry Jones of the Cowboys and Dan Snyder of the Redskins do.
Across the board on streams like stadium naming rights, television deals and ticket sales the Chicago Bears lag behind other major-market teams, and even some smaller market teams like the New England Patriots.
