The Chicago Bears took care of business on Saturday night. Riding an explosive start with a 97-yard touchdown bomb to Zavion Thomas, the team cruised to a 24-15 victory. They finish the preseason 2-1 and can officially begin preparations for opening day in Carolina against the Panthers. The first order of business for head coach Ben Johnson and general manager Ryan Poles is whittling down the roster from 90 players to 53. Most of those decisions are likely already made. There will be a handful of discussions over the next 24-48 hours. Perhaps the toughest decision will be Jayden Loving.
Back in April, there wasn’t much buzz around the defensive tackle from Wake Forest. He was undersized with only one season of solid production. It is why he went undrafted. However, the Bears felt he had the explosiveness they wanted for the position and would be a good fit in Dennis Allen’s system. That assessment appears to be correct. Two weeks after generating a pressure that led to an interception against Cleveland, Loving struck again in Nashville, delivering a strip sack. It was part of a terrific game where he finished with a sack, a forced fumble, two tackles for a loss, and a pass deflection.
Jayden Loving deserves a roster spot.
The problem is that he’s stuck on a depth chart that is suddenly much deeper than it was last season. Gervon Dexter and Grady Jarrett were starters. Neville Gallimore and 6th round pick Jordan Van Den Berg are also locks. That could be all the spots filled unless Dexter is traded or the Bears decide to keep five defensive tackles. Even then, it would be tough because veteran James Lynch has also played well. So you’re starting to see the dilemma. The Bears want to reward players who earn their way onto the roster. Loving has done enough to do that, but so have others in his position group.
This comes down to an important question. If the Bears cut him, what are the odds that another team claims Jayden Loving on waivers? Defensive linemen are always in high demand, especially those who can generate some interior pass rush. There is no way the Bears would carry two rookies as the primary backups to Dexter and Jarrett. That means they need to reserve a fifth spot at the position to make it happen. Would they be willing to sacrifice a spot elsewhere? That depends on whether Johnson believes they’re strong enough to go lighter somewhere else.
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The Bears deserve credit.
They’ve done some really good work at identifying quality talent despite taking a bargain approach. Van Den Berg already looks like a menace. Loving was found under the same search parameters. You can never tell if a player is destined for great things based on preseason play. Yet you can’t deny that Loving has made the most of his limited opportunities. He has the tools to play on Sundays. The challenge is finding the snaps for him. Right now, the Bears are hard-pressed to find a way to do that.
The Bears have until 5:00 CST to make their decisions. All cuts must be filed by then. Having played their preseason game later than other teams, they have less time to make them. There won’t be any time for Johnson and the coaches to comb over the game tape. They’ll have to make a judgment call based on what they saw during the game itself. That should favor Loving after his performance.
