Bears 53-man roster projection: How injuries, win vs. Bengals impact outlook?

The Bears’ preseason slate has just one game left after their 27-3 pasting of the Cincinnati Bengals’ second- and third-teams at Soldier Field on Saturday.

Quarterback Caleb Williams had an uneven day but finished with a wave of brilliance that will likely be his final action until the regular season opener against the Tennessee Titans.

After three preseason wins, the Bears’ initial 53-man roster is coming into focus. However, there are still several questions to address at the back end of a roster that has leveled up in talent over the past 365 days.

Here’s our latest 53-man roster projection after the Bears’ third preseason game:

Quarterback (2): Caleb Williams, Tyson Bagent

After a so-so performance against the Buffalo Bills, Bagent was on point against the Bengals on Saturday. He could quickly become one of the better backup quarterback options in the NFL.

The Bears like Brett Rypien for his value in the quarterback room, but they should be able to get him through to the practice squad with ease.

Despite what you saw on “Hard Knocks,” there is no evidence that undrafted rookie Austin Reed is in legitimate contention for a roster spot. Would the Bears keep both Rypien and Reed on the practice squad?

Running back (5): D’Andre Swift, Roschon Johnson, Khalil Herbert, Khari Blasingame, Travis Homer

Swift has been arguably the Bears’ most impressive player in camp thus far. The signing of Swift remains the most underrated move of the Bears’ transformational offseason.

While this might be Herbert’s last season in Chicago, his vision and burst give the Bears a valuable change-of-pace home-run threat out of the backfield. Herbert was never the same after the ankle injury in Week 5 last season, but he has looked like his old self so far this preseason.

Undrafted rookie Ian Wheeler scored two touchdowns in the Bears’ preseason win in Buffalo and will be a practice squad candidate.

Scatback (1): Velus Jones Jr.

The early returns from the Velus Jones experiment at running back have been hit or miss. The Bears can’t keep Jones just to be a kick returner, but the one thing working in Jones’ favor right now is that there are currently no better options behind him on the depth chart.

He makes it and takes one of the final three spits.

Wide receiver (5): DJ Moore, Keenan Allen, Rome Odunze, Tyler Scott, Dante Pettis

The top four here are locked in.

The final spot is completely up for grabs. Collin Johnson looked to have the inside track after the Hall of Fame Game, but he has missed the last two weeks with an injury. The Bears love Johnson's length as an asset on special teams, but you can't make the club in the tub.

DeAndre Carter was another option but he has also missed time recently.

Pettis has been on the outside looking in all camp, but he caught two touchdown passes from Bagent against the Bengals and does have value as a returner.

If Carter and Johnson can get back to work, they can push Pettis for the final spot.

Tight ends (3): Cole Kmet, Gerald Everett, Marcedes Lewis

Zero competition or mystery about this group. It’s a well-rounded unit that will be key to the identity of offensive coordinator Shane Waldron’s attack.

“Well our tight end room now is kind of beefy, whatever you want you can get it,” Lewis said. “If you want the pass game we've got that. If you want a running rout we've go that too so in our offense the tight ends are expected to be heavily relied on, we understand that and you know we take that on, we like knowing that.”

Look for undrafted rookie Brenden Bates to be a potential practice squad guy.

Offensive line (9): Braxton Jones, Teven Jenkins, Coleman Shelton, Ryan Bates, Nate Davis, Darnell Wright, Matt Pryor, Kiran Amegadjie, Larry Borom

The Bears are still working to find their “best five” in camp. Eberflus said the competition at right guard and center is ongoing. Davis returned to practice this week but Bates has now missed a week and is considered “week to week.”

With competitions still ongoing at center and right guard, the Bears’ search for their starting offensive will continue throughout the remainder of camp.

It’s unlikely Borom makes the team at his current $3.2 million salary after he hit the playtime escalator in his contract last season. But the Bears still need a swing tackle, and Amegadjie still hasn’t come off the Non-Football Injury List. It’s reasonable to expect the Bears and Borom to agree on a restructured contract to keep him on the roster as the swing tackle.

Pryor has the versatility to play either guard or tackle spot which could allow the Bears to cut bait with Borom if they can’t agree to a restructure. Pryor has played primarily on the right side during his career but did log 249 snaps at left tackle for the Colts in 2022. The Bears have given Ja’Tyre Carter some run at left tackle, but he hasn’t been effective enough to warrant landing one of the final spots on the roster at this point.

At this point, I think both Borom and Pryor make the final 53.

Bill Murray is the last man out at the moment. Eberflus praised Murray for his excellent camp a few weeks ago. The final spot remains fluid, depending on what happens with Borom and whether or not Amegadjie can get on the field.

Amegadjie could make the 53 and then be placed on Injured Reserve with a designation to return, which would allow the Bears to re-sign Murray once he passes through waivers.

Defensive line (8): Montez Sweat, Gervon Dexter, Andrew Billings, DeMarcus Walker, Zacch Pickens, Austin Booker, Dominique Robinson, Daniel Hardy

Jacob Martin had an excellent start to camp but hasn’t been on the field for over two weeks after suffering what appeared to be an ankle injury during an early padded practice. Availability is the best ability, so his spot on the roster is tenuous at best. While I still think he’s a much better option than Dominique Robinson, I think Robinson and Hardy have jumped over Martin due to his ankle/foot injury.

Hardy notched 2.5 sacks against the Bills and has seemingly become a specials teams regular in a push to nab one of the final roster spots.

Linebacker (5): Tremaine Edmunds, T.J. Edwards, Jack Sanborn, Amen Ogbongbemiga, Micah Baskerville

Sewell is another player whose lengthy camp absence has opened the door to competition.

The Bears love the 2023 fifth-round pick’s athleticism and ability as a blitzer, but he’s now firmly on the bubble after missing several weeks.

I’ll give Micah Baskerville the spot for now due to his availability and solid play, but if Sewell can get on the field during the final two weeks of camp, then he will retain his spot.

Cornerback (7): Jaylon Johnson, Tyrique Stevenson, Kyler Gordon, Terell Smith, Josh Blackwell, Jaylon Jones, Greg Stroman Jr.

This is a deep and talented group that feels pretty secure.

Gordon missed two-plus weeks of camp with “tightness,” but the third-year slot corner returned this week and showed no rust in a dominating performance against the Bengals. If he can stay healthy, Gordon is on track to make a Pro-Bowl ascension at nickel.

Blackwell and Stroman have both taken first-team reps in Gordon’s absence, while Jones filled in for Stevenson when he was out with an injury.

Undrafted rookies Reddy Steward and Leon Jones have had solid camps. It’s unlikely they’ll be able to overtake one of Jones, Blackwell, or Stroman, but both are practice squad candidates.

Safety (5): Kevin Byard, Jaquan Brisker, Jonathan Owens, Elijah Hicks, Adrian Colbert

Hicks entered camp on the roster bubble, but the 2022 seventh-round pick has had a nice camp and cemented his spot behind Brisker, Byard, and Owens.

Colbert and veteran Tarvarius Moore are battling for the final safety spot. I’ll give Colbert a slight edge with a few weeks to go. Colbert was on track to make the roster last year before suffering a shoulder injury in late August.

Specialists (3): Cairo Santos, Tory Taylor, Patrick Scales

Scales is dealing with a soft tissue injury in his back, but the Bears are confident that injury won’t be long term.

He can’t get healthy, expect the Bears to hold tryouts for a long snapper. Cameron Lyons had issues with a high snap or two in the win over the Bengals.

Taylor is a weapon at punter. He punted three times against the Bengals for a total of 150 yards, including a field-flipping 57-yarder.