2021 Chicago Bears Roster

   The final depth chart sadly is not ideal to say the least, it has holes but has potential as well, which one will show up first in game day could end up being the X factor. Ryan Pace took a hit with the shortage of salary cap and exposed some bad contract negotiations made, putting the team in a pinch roster wise, he managed to build a team of course but it really does look unfinished especially at defense, but first things first,

QB - A. Dalton, J. Fields, N. Foles

   Matt Nagy sticks to his word and makes Dalton the starting QB for week one. I don't love the decision but I can accept it. The Oline is not a finished product and could hamper Justin Fields development, although he showed he is capable of playing behind a shaky Oline it's still not the best scenario for the future of the franchise. Eventually Fields will play this season, it should depend partially on Daltons and the Olines play but mostly because Fields is up to pace with the playbook and knows the team better. Nick Foles is on the roster because there is still no one to pick him up via trade, if he steps on the field to play QB it would mean that the previous two QBs died along with any hope of the Oline getting better. One thing that bothers me of this group is that  no QB got signed to the PS... where is the development Ryan Pace? do not sit on your hands just because you landed the golden egg, great QBs are rare but so are good ones, find one and bid him for more help if necessary or keep him it wouldn't hurt to have two good QBs now would it?

Right now this group is considered average. Like a broken record, it all will depend on Fields development. Make it happen Nagy or the crowd will be shouting for Brian Daboll next year.

RB - D. Montgomery, K. Herbert, D. Williams

   The preseason for this group was all about who was going to back up David Montgomery, I would give the win to Khalil Herbert who did more with his snaps than Damien Williams and even played as a kick returner and did OK, I wouldn't mind if he is given some of Montgomery's snaps. Williams is still a good player to have in case of an emergency as a starter. At the PS there is Artavis Pierce and the kids all favorite Ryan Nall, both with good history with the team makes them serviceable as backups if needed. Tarik Cohen is still rehabbing the leg, he might not get a chance to play this season, I hope he does return if just to get a chance to play with Fields.

This is a good group that can establish a good run and pass game with Montgomery taking the inside handoffs while Hebert stretches the Dline with outside runs.

WR - A. Robinson, D. Mooney, M. Goodwin, B. Perriman, D. Byrd, N. Webster

   Allen Robinson and Darnell Mooney are the starters, duh. Although he didn't play much in preseason games, looks like Marquise Goodwin won the backup role and will help at slot WR. Surprised that none of the players who started camp were retained except for Damien Byrd, instead Breshad Perriman was signed and  most likely will be the first to come off the bench when needed and Nsimba Webster was picked via waivers from SF to play primarily as a returner so it seems. This only means that Ryan Pace and his scouting team will have work on upgrading this group next year, Mooney is their only drafted player and Robinson, as good as a catch in FA as he was, is not under contract at the end of the season. PS players signed were rookie Dazz Newsome who likely regressed with his collarbone injury and didn't show much at preseason for the coaches to keep him in the 53 man roster, newly signed Isaiah Coulter looked alright playing in a limited role, Jon'Vea Johnson had some action but didn't flash enough and Rodney Adams who was the favorite to make the roster with a pair of long touchdown passes but instead was waived and made it here, he isn't big or fast but played tough and made the catches thrown his way.

Robinson and Mooney could benefit with better QBing depending if the Oline give them enough time,  if Goodwin, Perriman and Byrd can contribute as the third guy then this group could end up being solid for Fields growth.

TE - C. Kmet, J. James, J. Horsted, J. Graham, J.P. Holtz

   There is Cole Kmet and then a lot of Jays... Kmet should be the premier TE playing mostly inside and have Jesse James take the outside role while Jesper Horsted backs them up. James and Horsted have been a pleasant surprise this preseason, their performance would have made it easy for Pace to let go of Jimmy Graham before the draft, I did feel that Graham was needed on the team with only Kmet as the sure thing at the time, but with what I saw this preseason it would have been better to let go of him instead of Fuller. Oh yeah I almost forgot about Holtz, why is Holtz on the team? I was sure he was just warming the seat for someone else but ended up staying somehow, I don't get it, last year he did close to nothing to help the team win in any way, I'm still not convinced he stays for long, maybe he will get waived when/if Cohen returns.

Not accounting for Holtz, this is a good mix of young and veteran players.

OL - J. Peters, C. Whitehair, S. Mustipher, J. Daniels, J. Ifedi, A. Bars, L. Borom, E. Wilkerson, L. Simmons

   The Oline may still dictate the fate of this team once more, the rebuild started promising with the drafting of Teven Jenkins just to lose him for a chunk or maybe the whole season due to an injured back he was nursing before training camp. Signing super veteran Jason Peters to play LT is a good move, I wanted him on the team last year, he may not help at the run game but will be a very decent pass protector. At the other side Germain Ifedi returns as the RT, he was praised a lot by coaches but what he showed at the last preseason game was nothing to praise about. Cody Whitehair and James Daniels will be playing their more dominant positions at G, the real concern is C Sam Mustipher, he didn't show much improvement but it's still a wait and see scenario. Rookie Larry Borom has shown a bit of promise and is now being tutored to be the main backup at probably LT for the Bears, if this works and pushes Jenkins to the RT it would be awesome to see. Alex Bars comes back with good versatility to play almost any positions in a pinch although he is average at best. Swing tackle Elijah Wilkinson should be considered only for the right side and hopefully isn't needed and lastly Lachavious Simmons is another player I don't expect to see on the team for long. At the PS the Bears signes Tyrone Wheatley Jr. Dieter Eiselen and Arlington Hambright who I don't see them getting a chance to play.

The group is average at best right now and that is not good, if Mustipher and Ifedi struggle then the season is most probably over, even if Fields gets the starting job I don't know how much good it can come out of that type of situation.

DL - A. Hicks, E. Goldman, B. Nichols, M. Edwards*, K. Tonga, A. Blackson

   This might be the last year we see Akiem Hicks in a Bears uniform and that is sad, what is not sad is the return of Eddie Goldman to the middle, the improved play of Bilal Nichols makes this trio a force to be recon with. Khyiris Tonga showed great strength pushing guys back at the line of scrimmage, he promises to be a good backup to Goldman. Angelo Blackson reminds me of Hicks when he got signed to Chicago, if he shows some of that type of game he could very well be the replacement for Hicks. The return of Mario Edwards once he completes his suspension will only make this group better. There is some promise at the PS with Sam Kamara who had some good plays in the preseason games, newly signed Auzoyah Alufohai I know nothing about but doubt he will see the field.

The core group returns as a very good group and the backups only makes this group better with a very good rotation.

OLB - K. Mack, R. Quinn, Tr. Gipson, J. Attaochu

   I wonder if Khalil Mack ever regrets being a Bear? then I remember that he was a Raider and I stop thinking about it. Last chance for Robert Quinn to help in the sack department by getting to the QB or helping his teammates get home, if not then he should get the Leonard Floyd treatment and get cut, give another guy a chance, someone like Trevis Gipson who showed improvement finding the QB possibly making him the third rusher for the team. Jeremiah Attaochu for now is just another guy. At the PS John Snowden was signed back, hopefully he can get better and make the 53 man next year, he looked very promising.

As long as Mack is here this group will be alright, it will need the help of its DL to produce because its not going to get it from its secondary. With Goldman back and a healthy Hicks, its possible that this time the sack number gets to where they would like it to be.

ILB - R. Smith, A. Ogletree, C. Jones, J. Iyiegbuniwe, C. Johnson

   Roquan Smith will have a new partner in crime this season, with Danny Trevathan moved to IR its time for newly signed  turnover machine Alec Ogletree to take the field, lets hope his preseason interception streak continues. Christian Jones and Joel Iyiegbuniwe bring the veteran presence and will be contributing more on ST along with rookie Caleb Johnson who showed good energy and hustle in the preseason.

If Ogletree can cover and run like Trevathan once did, this group will do good things.

CB - J. Johnson, K. Vildor, D. Shelley, A. Burns, X. Crawford, M. Christian

   Incredible how this group can go from a solid one to the weakest one, with Kyle Fuller gone its up to Jaylon Johnson to put his big boy pants on as the main CB of the team, the biggest issue though is at the other size with Kindle Vildor, a promising slot guy now in charge with the duty to go cover the boundary, he could end up being the second coming of Tim Jennings who had size disadvantages as well but made up for it with tight coverage, Vildor is struggling in zone but has looked better in man so ideally Sean Desai should scheme to his advantage. That leaves us with Duke Shelley with slot duties, he isn't bad but hasn't showed he is good either giving up a lot of plays, again this is going to be a really tough job for Desai getting this to work. Artie Burns, Xavier Crawford and Marqui Christian are the backups, WOOF. At the practice squad Thomas Graham Jr. was resigned although I would have prefered he was part of the 53 man instead of some other guys. Jalen Tabor made it as well but he is more of a safety.

This group is in so much trouble if Johnson gets injured again.

S - E. Jackson, Ta. Gipson, D. Houston-Carson, D. Bush

   There is chat that Desai will bring us back 2018 Eddie Jackson, I hope this is true. Tashaun Gipson gets another shot at SS finishing strong last year. Veterans DeAndre Houston-Carson and Deon Bush come back as well as solid backups.

Average at the least but if Jackson recovers his swag then this defense could possibly have been one good CB away from being scary good.

ST - C. Santos, P. O'Donnell, P. Scales

   Cairo "Robbie who?" Santos is back and well deserved along megapunt Pat O'Donnell and LS Patrick Scales to complete the trio for one more year. Santos beat out rookie Brian Johnson who performed pretty well and won himself a spot at the PS.

   Everybody will have their eyes on Fields and the moment he start for this team but the start of the season will be all about the Oline, if it plays good enough Dalton will find succeeds and Fields can learn to be a QB as a whole, if the Oline struggles I don't see Dalton overcoming this but maybe Fields will but will be having to learn the hard way. The defense will be a testament of Desai's coaching and scheme abilities, if he is able to make the difference and overcome the holes in his unit I would be amazed. Five more days.