CHGO Digest: Bears add to defensive front as cut day approaches

Good morning, friends!

The preseason is over.

This week, we get fantasy football drafts and college football.

In 13 days: Bears. Titans. Soldier Field. Week 1.

Congratulations, everybody. Despite The Great QB War of 2024, we reached the other side generally unscathed.

Of course, Mother Nature has another week of 90°F weather in store for Chicago, but dust off the crock pots and dig your sweatshirts out of the closet — football is back.

— Patrick Norton

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Is Ryan Poles satisfied with defensive line ahead of season opener?

The deadline for teams to cut training camp rosters down to 53 is at 3 p.m. tomorrow.

The dream of Matthew Judon in the orange and blue is gone. It wouldn’t be wise to get your hopes up for a Haason Reddick splash, and the same goes for any idea that brings Khalil Mack back to Chicago.

While the Bears’ defense is primed to catapult among the league’s elite defenses in 2024, there’s still warranted reason for concern about the defensive front.

Acquiring Darrell Taylor from Seattle and Chris Williams from Cleveland, each for a 2024 6th-rounder, adds necessary depth, but should the team be satisfied with a rotation opposite Montez Sweat?

• Taylor has to take somebody’s roster spot, too. Is that Dominique Robinson? Daniel Hardy? The 27-year-old edge rusher certainly brings an intriguing résumé to Chicago. Missing his rookie season after surgery to repair a leg fracture, Taylor played three seasons with the Seahawks, missing one game and accruing 21.5 sacks. In 2022, Taylor forced four fumbles.
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• Williams’ greatest ability is his availability. With Zacch Pickens banged up, Matt Eberflus addressed the lack of depth at DT after Thursday night’s win, saying, “It’s not as strong and as deep as you’d want for sure.” Less than 48 hours later, the Bears picked up Williams, a depth tackle who spent time in Indianapolis while Eberflus was the defensive coordinator.
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• As the deadline for the roster approaches, where does the line stand? Montez Sweat, DeMarcus Walker, Austin Booker, and Darrell Taylor feel like the only locks off the edge. If the team carries five, that leaves one spot for Robinson, Hardy, and an injured Jacob Martin.​
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🎧 SPOTIFY | APPLE PODCASTS | CHGO Bears Podcast — TRADES! Bears add two players as roster cuts begin.

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Cermak & Wabash

Join the CHGO crew at our exclusive tailgates at the corner of Cermak & Wabash throughout the season. Food, Miller Lite, and Chicago Bears football. First up: Sunday, September 8 vs. Tennessee. Celebrate the beginning of a new era with us!

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Key battles, decisions ahead of cut day

The NFL is a business. Acknowledging that doesn’t make watching more than 1,000 players throughout the league losing their jobs any less bitter. It’s a brutal day for dreams of playing in the NFL.

The Bears cannot reasonably keep four quarterbacks on the active roster. Despite being the darling of training camp and Hard Knocks, Austin Reed is likely the odd man out by 3 p.m. on Tuesday.

Keith Randolph Jr, Khalid Kareem, and Freddie Swain have already been cut. The team placed Ian Wheeler on injured reserve after he tore his ACL fighting for an extra yard and a roster spot against the Chiefs.

• Gone are the days of hoping a scrappy camp standout like Daniel Braverman cracks the 53-man. In 2022, Ryan Poles kept seven receivers. The following year, he kept six. An influx of talent at the position could bring that number down to five this year. Beyond DJ Moore, Keenan Allen, Rome Odunze, and Tyler Scott, that means one spot for Dante Pettis, DeAndre Carter, or Collin Johnson.
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• Pettis and Carter both provide value as punt returners. However, Pettis was banged up in practice last week, missing the preseason finale in Kansas City. In the Chiefs game, Carter was legally blocked into a ball he anticipated would roll into the end zone, making contact and giving possession back to the Chiefs. Johnson’s Hall of Fame Game heroics were a preseason highlight for the Bears, but his inability to stay on the field since could send him to waivers and back onto the practice squad.
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• Reddy Steward capped off a solid preseason with a massive two-interception performance. Unfortunately for the undrafted rookie, he’s part of Chicago’s most competitive position group. Steward is a shoo-in for the practice squad… if he doesn’t wind up on another team’s active roster first.
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🔎 READ | Nicholas Moreano on the punt return situation, and the loaded secondary.

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Roundup: White Sox become fastest to 100 losses in 108 years

• Another day, another milestone. The Philadelphia Athletics lost their 100th game of the year in the 130th contest of the 1916 season. The White Sox did it last night in Game No. 131. Connie Mack’s crew finished the season with a 36-117-1 record. Unless Grady Sizemore can will his club to 12 wins in the final 31 games, the White Sox will set another MLB record: most losses in a full 162-game season.
  
• Maybe it was fate. Maybe it’s just a coincidence. The 2003 Detroit Tigers, who currently hold the record for most losses with 119, lost their 100th to… the White Sox in their 134th game of the year. The 2024 White Sox dropped No. 100 against the Tigers on Sunday. Chicago finishes an odd scheduled Friday-Monday wraparound with the Tigers today.
  

🔎 GO DEEPER | Vinnie Duber explores just how bad things can get for the White Sox before the season ends.

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Fancy seeing you here.

When shopping at your local @DICKS, you might find some shirts you like. 👀 pic.twitter.com/lOplmlXERA

— CHGO Bears (@CHGO_Bears) August 25, 2024

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Join us for an upcoming CHGO event!

⚽ 8/31: CHGO Fire Takeover vs. Inter Miami — Jason Derulo post-match concert!
⚾ 9/6: CHGO Cubs Takeover for Anthony Rizzo’s return to Wrigley!
🏈 9/8: CHGO Bears Tailgate in Chicago! – Week 1 vs. Titans