Chicago Bears Stock Report: Cut Deadline Draws Near
By Erik Lambert
The Chicago Bears concluded the last important part of their preseason with a strong showing. Now the hard part begins. Figuring out the roster.
Head coach Matt Nagy and his staff likely have an idea of how the final 53 will look. Veteran guard Earl Watford was already released. More should be expected to follow in the coming week. It comes down to who did enough to secure themselves a spot, who didn’t and then determining those who might be in the fringe either way.
That’s why this stock report will be a bit different. This time it won’t just be showcasing those who went up or down. Instead they’ll be separated into three different groups: green, yellow and red. The green names are those who were somewhat uncertain at the start of training camp but have now done more than enough to consider themselves safe. Yellow are names who are iffy either for a starting job or roster spot. Red? That shouldn’t be a hard one to guess.
Green: Benny Cunningham
The Bears made sure to challenge the veteran running back to see if he was getting complacent or not. Cunningham, to his credit, responded well. He had a good training camp and delivered a steady showing in preseason capped by nice performance against Kansas City. He’s a versatile running back who would likely be a primary backup on other teams and also a core special teamer. Taquan Mizzell, Ryan Nall, and Knile Davis can’t offer what he can.
Green: Roy Robertson-Harris
This young man is the poster child of earning your way up the ladder. He started out as an undrafted free agent outside linebacker. The Bears shifted him to defensive end in 2017 where he was a rotational backup. Now Robertson-Harris had the best preseason of his career (3.5 sacks) and is slated to be the starter alongside Akiem Hicks and Eddie Goldman. That’s quite a story. His arrow only continues to point upward.