The Chicago Bears must submit their initial 53-man roster to the NFL office before the league’s 3 p.m. deadline on Tuesday.
Here are all of the latest roster developments.
Preparing for the deadline
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The Bears began the process of reducing the roster Sunday afternoon when the team placed cornerback Terell Smith, who suffered a torn patellar tendon in his left knee in the preseason victory over the Buffalo Bills, on season-ending injured reserve.
The club also requested waivers for six players. The moves leave the roster with 84 players, meaning they need to clear 31 additional spots before Tuesday’s deadline.
Waived were linebacker Swayze Bozeman, guard Chris Glaser, tight end Thomas Gordon, wide receiver Samori Toure and defensive backs Mark Perry and Jeremiah Walker.
It will be interesting to see how the team makes additional moves around the practice schedule over the next three days. The Bears are practicing at 2 p.m. Monday and at 1 p.m. Tuesday. It stands to reason the club will want to have the bulk of cuts completed before Tuesday’s practice with the 3 p.m. deadline that day, although the club could use players it plans to release and then attempt to re-sign to the practice squad.
Coach Ben Johnson speaks, July 22, 2025, as the Chicago Bears report to training camp at Halas Hall in Lake Forest.
Brian Cassella, Chicago Tribune/TNS
Waiver claims are due by 11 a.m. Wednesday and after the league office has sent the personnel notice, teams are permitted to begin forming the practice squad. With a 1 p.m. practice on Wednesday, it’s possible that players released by the team will be re-signed to the practice squad in time to participate in that workout.
Backfield in motion
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Perhaps the most interesting position to watch how things unfold will be running back. There are a handful of question marks after starter D’Andre Swift, who had 20 snaps in Friday’s preseason finale at Kansas City, carrying seven times for 28 yards and catching one pass.
Seventh-round pick Kyle Monangai has been out with a minor soft-tissue injury since the joint practice with the Buffalo Bills on Aug. 15. He’s expected to be back in action soon.
Roschon Johnson (foot) has been out since Aug. 7 and Travis Homer (calf) has been sidelined since Aug. 13. Johnson was a fourth-round pick in 2023 and Homer was re-signed in March to a $1.75 million, one-year contract that guaranteed him $1 million. One or both could be candidates to open the season on injured reserve with a designation to return.
Ian Wheeler did not dress for the game at Kansas City and that leaves Brittain Brown (signed Aug. 11) and Royce Freeman, added last Wednesday, as the only healthy options. Brown, who carried 29 times for 100 yards and one touchdown in two exhibitions, could be the leading candidate if the team were making a choice between these three options.
It’s possible the Bears go light at running back on the initial 53-man roster Tuesday with plans to make a move or moves in subsequent days. The roster will almost certainly look somewhat different by Thursday when the team begins a four-day break. General manager Ryan Poles could consider a waiver move, a free agent signing or possibly a late trade to bolster the back end of the depth chart.
Provided Monangai is back on the field soon, maybe even this week, it’s not an alarming situation. Swift is going to get the majority of the work but the Bears will have to do some juggling at running back, at least in the early stages of the regular season.
Injured reserve possibilities
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As mentioned above, Johnson and Homer are potential candidates to be placed on injured reserve with a designation to return. Last year, the NFL changed procedural rules allowing teams to place up to two players on IR with a designation to return simultaneously with the reduction to 53 at Tuesday’s deadline. Previously, players that teams wished to start the season on IR with a chance to return had to be carried on the initial 53-man roster before they could be moved to IR.
Defensive end Austin Booker, who led the league with four sacks in preseason, is another possibility. Coach Ben Johnson said he is going to be out for a few weeks. Cornerback Josh Blackwell (undisclosed), quarterback Case Keenum (calf) and linebacker Amen Ogbongbemiga (shoulder) also have minor injuries the team must navigate in forming the roster.
It’s unknown what the team will do with rookie cornerback Zah Frazier, the fifth-round pick from Texas-San Antonio, but he is unlikely to be on the 53-man roster in Week 1. Frazier missed all of training camp and preseason for personal reasons and when Johnson was asked Friday if there is progress toward him returning to practice, he said no. It’s possible Frazier lands on one of the reserve lists.
Other expected moves
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It would be a surprise if cornerback Jaylon Johnson, who has been out since the start of training camp with a calf injury, is not removed from the non-football injury list before the 3 p.m. Tuesday deadline. The Bears will also have to remove Australian punter Tory Taylor from the exempt/international player list in order to reduce to 53.
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