Chicago Bears Expected To Add At 3 Positions Before Training Camp

People often forget that the construction of an NFL roster is rarely complete. It doesn’t end with the NFL draft and undrafted free agency. Teams are always looking for ways to tweak the depth chart, for backup help, for special teams help, or maybe even for a late addition to the starting lineup. Nobody disputes that the Chicago Bears have done good work upgrading their roster over the past two months. They’ve found immediate contributors at several positions like guard, center, defensive tackle, defensive end, tight end, and wide receiver.

Unfortunately, the hard truth of pro sports is you rarely achieve every goal in one offseason. Certain positions may not get the attention they needed because the pool of talent didn’t break the way you hoped. GM Ryan Poles understands that reality. Still, it won’t stop him from continuing his search for help. Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune believes the Bears aren’t done making moves to fortify the roster before training camp. He listed three to keep an eye on as summer approaches.

An awful lot of hand-wringing is going on over the depth chart at edge, running back (as detailed above) and safety. It’s April. NFL rosters are always fluid and we’ve already seen a handful of teams release players after the draft. More will become available and I’d bet top dollar the Bears are keeping an eye on the situation while tweaking their short lists at every position. Trust me when I tell you they’re keeping closer tabs on this than you and I are. I’d keep running back, safety and defensive end on the radar as positions where they might consider an addition.

It isn’t difficult to see why the Chicago Bears think this way.

All three of those positions have question marks. Outside of D’Andre Swift, they don’t have a clear #2 option at running back. It is a mix of largely unproven names like Roschon Johnson, Kyle Monangai, Ian Wheeler, and Travis Homer. At defensive end, the stability gets questionable after Montez Sweat and Dayo Odeyingbo. When Austin Booker and Daniel Hardy are your two best backup options, it is understandable why there would be skepticism. As for safety, the simple fact is that both Kevin Byard and Jaquan Brisker are free agents next year. Brisker also has a history of health issues. They’ve added nothing besides undrafted rookies Major Burns and Tysheem Johnson.

There are certainly some interesting names to explore for the Chicago Bears. Nick Chubb and J.K. Dobbins are two obvious ones at running back. Za’Darius Smith, Von Miller, Shaq Barrett, and Matt Judon are the most notable names left on the edge market. All carry obvious questions about their age. As for safeties, Julian Blackmon, Jordan Whitehead, Vonn Bell, and Quandre Diggs could be targets. Of course, that depends on whether any are open to backup/rotational roles. Answers should arrive no later than the end of July.