Bears' 53-man roster is set: The biggest surprises from cutdown day

Chicago completed its final roster cuts Sunday, as well as moces like placing Kyler Gordon, Noah Sewell and Shemar Turner on reserve/PUP. Ray-Ray McCloud III, Jaylon Jones, Brittain Brown and Tony Fields landed on injured reserve.

The initial roster shouldn't necessarily be considered final — waiver claims and additional transactions could still reshape the bottom of it — but Sunday's decisions provided several interesting takeaways.

Jordan van den Berg and Jamree Kromah complete impressive summers

Two of the Bears' biggest preseason success stories officially have roster spots.

Van den Berg, a sixth-round rookie, steadily climbed the depth chart during camp and even received work with the first-team run defense. Kromah was consistently disruptive during the preseason, including a huge performance against Cleveland in which he recorded six tackles, three tackles for loss, two sacks, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery.

The Bears were comfortable enough with their defensive-line depth to trade Dexter and release veteran Marcus Davenport. Van den Berg and Kromah were big reasons why.

Roschon Johnson wins Bears' RB3 competition

One of the biggest offensive roster battles ended with Roschon Johnson beating out Salvon Ahmed for the third running back spot behind D'Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai.

Johnson's value on special teams was always going to factor heavily into the decision.

Ben Johnson made that clear during the preseason when discussing what Chicago needed from its third running back. Roschon also helped himself offensively against Cincinnati, rushing 12 times for 42 yards and following it up against the Tennessee Titans with a critical block on Zavion Thomas' 97-yard touchdown and a TD run of his own.

With Monangai working his way back from a hyperextended knee, keeping Johnson also gives Chicago another experienced option behind Swift.

Kiran Amegadjie's Bears tenure ends

Perhaps the most notable young player among Chicago's cuts was Kiran Amegadjie.

The Bears waived their 2024 third-round pick after he failed to emerge from a crowded competition at offensive tackle. Amegadjie entered training camp as one of the candidates for the starting left tackle job, but he eventually fell out of that competition as Braxton Jones and Theo Benedet emerged as the primary options.

Chicago also released Jedrick Wills Jr. with an injury settlement.

It's a disappointing conclusion for Amegadjie, whom the Bears selected No. 75 overall just two years ago.

Bears make some tough veteran decisions

A few recognizable veterans also failed to make the cut.

Jack Sanborn and Marcus Davenport were released, while Ahmed lost the running back competition.

Davenport's departure is particularly interesting, given the Bears didn't sign him until Aug. 17. His release, combined with the Dexter trade, leaves Chicago looking significantly different along the defensive front than it did just a couple of weeks ago.

The Bears are putting a ton of faith in their younger defensive linemen.

Bears' initial roster probably won't stay intact for long

The most important word in "initial 53-man roster" is initial.

Ryan Poles now gets an opportunity to evaluate players released around the NFL, and Chicago could make waiver claims or additional moves that alter the bottom of the roster before Week 1.

Still, Sunday's moves offered some clarity after weeks of competition.

Van den Berg and Kromah forced their way into Chicago's defensive-line plans. Roschon Johnson did enough to retain his roster spot. And the Bears finally moved on from Amegadjie after waiting two seasons for their former third-round pick to develop.

Chicago Bears initial 53-man roster

Quarterbacks (3)
Caleb Williams
Tyson Bagent
Case Keenum

Running backs (3)
D'Andre Swift
Kyle Monangai
Roschon Johnson

Wide receivers (5)
Rome Odunze
Luther Burden III
Kalif Raymond
Jahdae Walker
Zavion Thomas

Tight ends (4)
Cole Kmet
Colston Loveland
Sam Roush
Hayden Large

Offensive line (10)
Braxton Jones
Joe Thuney
Garrett Bradbury
Jonah Jackson
Darnell Wright
Ozzy Trapilo
Theo Benedet
Logan Jones
Luke Newman
Jordan McFadden

Defensive line (10)
Montez Sweat
Grady Jarrett
Dayo Odeyingbo
Austin Booker
Daniel Hardy
Neville Gallimore
Kentavius Street
Jamree Kromah
Jordan van den Berg
Jayden Loving

Linebackers (4)
T.J. Edwards
Devin Bush
D'Marco Jackson
Keyshaun Elliott

Defensive backs (11)
Jaylon Johnson
Tyrique Stevenson
Malik Muhammad II
Josh Blackwell
Clark Phillips III
Coby Bryant
Cam Lewis
Dillon Thieneman
Xavier Woods
Elijah Hicks
Skyler Thomas

Specialists (3)
Cairo Santos — K
Tory Taylor — P
Beau Gardner — LS