Chicago Bears Roster: The Good News and the Bad News

The Chicago Bears roster is in a state of flux at the moment as key injuries continue to hit and the team tries to adjust as best they can.

After having 19 players end up on Injured Reserve in 2016, they already have nine one game into 2017. It’s hard not to feel like this team might be cursed for whatever reason. Nonetheless they don’t have time to sulk about it. Tampa Bay is on the approach and they must prepare. At the same time it’s never too early to do some examination of where this roster sits.

Now there are some good things going for it. They remain strong at running back, offensive line, and defensive line. Those three areas can help a team win if featured properly. At the same time there are also some areas that threaten to haunt them all season long. So here is a quick rundown of the good news and the bad news with the roster.

The bad news:  Their biggest weaknesses can’t be fixed right now

Coming into the season the Bears were considered thin, if not weak, at two primary positions. One was wide receiver and the other was outside linebacker. So sure enough the team proceeds to suffer catastrophic losses at both positions. Cameron Meredith tore up his knee in the preseason. Markus Wheaton broke his finger. Now Kevin White is back on the shelf with a broken scapula.

At outside linebacker it’s more of the same. Pernell McPhee is battling back from another knee injury. Willie Young is battling age (he’s 32). Lamarr Houston, who has since been cut, injured his knee for the third time in four years. Leonard Floyd looks like their only viable edge rusher at the moment, and that’s not a good thing in a division that features three hot quarterbacks in Aaron Rodgers, Matthew Stafford and Sam Bradford.

Unfortunately the development of these problems came too late. Meredith and White went down in the space of two weeks from late August to opening day when the free agency market was long-since picked clean. Pass rushers by that same token are never available this time of year. Basically they need to hope guys like Tanner Gentry can step up and McPhee can get to 100% healthy. Otherwise they’re out of luck.

The good news:  2018 should have loads of solutions

All that being said, GM Ryan Pace must be seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. The 2018 offseason will be his next opportunity to correct these problems, and based on early impressions he’ll have a loaded talent pool to help him. Let’s start with wide receiver. The upcoming free agent class will be headlined by names like Odell Beckham, Davante Adams, Alshon Jeffery, Terrelle Pryor, Taylor Gabriel, John Brown, Sammy Watkins, and Allen Robinson.

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Of course smart money says a number of those guys will be locked up beforehand but odds are a few of them will slip onto the open market. At which time Pace and his $40+ million in cap space should be able to lure one in with shiny, new quarterback Mitch Trubisky. This isn’t even counting the possible 2018 draft class which early previews see as many as five receivers being 1st round caliber.

That’s even more true for pass rushers with names like Arden Key, Harold Landry and Dorance Armstrong alone garnering top 10 buzz. It’s almost the ideal setup for the Bears with the projections for most talented positions lining up with their biggest needs. All Pace will have to do is make sure he has a game plan to exploit them.