Chicago Bears Rumors & News - Pro Football Rumors

Bears Work Out CB D.J. Hayden

September 21st, 2021 at 7:51pm CST by Ben Levine

The Bears worked out a trio of defensive backs today, including a former first-round pick. The team auditioned D.J. Hayden, Lafayette Pitts, and Kevon Seymour, per Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune (via Twitter).

While Hayden hasn’t necessarily lived up to his 12th-overall selection in the 2013 draft, he’s still managed to put together an eight-year career. The veteran had spent the past three seasons in Jacksonville, but he bounced on and off injured reserve in 2020 while dealing with a hamstring injury. The 31-year-old ultimately saw time in five games, collecting 18 tackles.

The Bears struggled during their loss to the Rams, with slot corner Marqui Christian getting his fair share of the blame. The cornerback finished the game having allowed five catches (including two touchdowns) on six targets.

The Bears were also busy working out running backs today, with Brian Hill, Wendell Smallwood, and Chris Thompson all in for tryouts. Biggs assumes (on Twitter) that the team is simply updating their RB free agent list, which makes sense considering the team’s depth (David Montgomery, Damien Williams, and (eventually) Tarik Cohen).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Latest On Bears QB Andy Dalton

September 20th, 2021 at 6:57pm CST by Ben Levine

Bears quarterback Andy Dalton was knocked out of yesterday’s win over the Bengals, and NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport confirmed (on Twitter) that an MRI confirmed a bone bruise in the veteran’s knee. No official determination has been made about Dalton’s status for next weekend’s game against the Browns.

Dalton wasn’t great during the Bears’ Week 1 loss to the Rams, but he looked a bit better on Sunday. Before exiting with his injury, the veteran completed nine of his 11 passes for 56 yards and one touchdown. Meanwhile, after Justin Fields completed both of his pass attempts and rushed for a touchdown in Week 1, the first-round pick completed only six of his 13 pass attempts for 60 yards yesterday. The rook also threw an interception and had a fumble.

The Bears depth chart seems a bit unpredictable at the moment, and coach Matt Nagy didn’t do much to help the matter this afternoon. When asked to reveal who would start Week 3 if both QBs are healthy, the head coach gave a head-scratching answer.

“That’s something that I’m not going to get into with scheme,” Nagy said (via Andrew Siciliano of NFL Network on Twitter).

Later, a team official clarified that Nagy had misinterpreted the question and that Dalton would remain the starter, if healthy (via ESPN’s Jeff Dickerson).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/18/21

September 18th, 2021 at 4:35pm CST by Sam Robinson

The customary Saturday minor moves avalanche:

Arizona Cardinals

Promoted: S Chris Banjo, CB Antonio Hamilton

Baltimore Ravens

Promoted: CB Kevon Seymour, T Andre Smith

Chicago Bears

Promoted: DL Margus Hunt, T Alex Taylor
Placed on IR: T Larry Borom

Cincinnati Bengals

Promoted: S Sean Davis

Cleveland Browns

Promoted: LB Elijah Lee

Dallas Cowboys

Promoted: TE Jeremy Sprinkle

Denver Broncos

Promoted: RB Damarea Crockett, OL Austin Schlottmann

Houston Texans

Promoted: TE Antony Auclair, K Joey Slye

Indianapolis Colts

Promoted: WR DeMichael Harris

Jacksonville Jaguars

Promoted: WR Laquon Treadwell

Las Vegas Raiders

Promoted: OL Lester Cotton, RB Trey Ragas

Los Angeles Chargers

Promoted: DL Joe Gaziano

Los Angeles Rams

Promoted: LB Micah Kiser, DL Justin Lawler

Miami Dolphins

Promoted: CB Jamal Perry

Minnesota Vikings

Promoted: RB Ameer Abdullah, S Myles Dorn, QB Sean Mannion
Waived: TE Brandon Dillon

New England Patriots

Promoted: LB Tashawn Bower, K Nick Folk
Placed on IR: K Quinn Nordin (story)

New Orleans Saints

Promoted: DE Jalyn Holmes, LB Wynton McManis, DB Jordan Miller, C Austin Reiter (story)
Placed on IR: LB Chase Hansen

New York Jets

Promoted: S Adrian Colbert, LB Del’Shawn Phillips

San Francisco 49ers

Placed on IR: LB Dre Greenlaw (story)

Tennessee Titans

Promoted: TE Tommy Hudson

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/15/21

September 15th, 2021 at 12:51pm CST by Zachary Links

We’ll keep track of today’s taxi squad moves here:

Baltimore Ravens

Signed: CB Kevon Seymour, OT Andre Smith

Chicago Bears

Signed: OL Alex Taylor

Cincinnati Bengals

Signed: S Sean Davis (story)

Houston Texans

Signed: DB Grayland Arnold
Released: DB Antonio Phillips

Indianapolis Colts

Signed: CB Chris Wilcox

Los Angeles Chargers

Signed: WR Maurice Ffrench
Placed on IR: WR Joe Reed

Las Vegas Raiders

Released: CB Madre Harper

New Orleans Saints

Signed: DB Jordan Miller, C Austin Reiter

Seattle Seahawks

Signed: WR De’Quan Hampton, TE Michael Jacobson, WR Connor Wedington

Bears To Promote DL Damion Square

September 11th, 2021 at 2:07pm CST by Sam Robinson

It looks like Damion Square will be set for a ninth NFL season. The veteran defensive lineman caught on with the Bears earlier this week, via a practice squad deal, but will be on Chicago’s active roster Sunday night.

The Bears are promoting Square from their taxi squad, Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune tweets. Starting nose tackle Eddie Goldman will not make the trip to Los Angeles, having been ruled out for Week 1 with a knee injury, putting Square in position to be a depth piece for his new team.

The Saints released Square on roster cutdown day. A week later, the Bears brought the former Charger in for a workout and added him to their 16-man practice squad. While Square is not a lock to dress against the Rams, Goldman’s injury and the Bears’ thin defensive line depth chart would seemingly ensure the ninth-year vet plays. Chicago has three backup D-linemen on its roster — Square, Angelo Blackson and seventh-round rookie Khyiris Tonga — but one of them will need to start for Goldman.

Square, 32, played six seasons with the Chargers and started 24 games — including 11 during the Bolts’ 2018 playoff season. He played 252 defensive snaps with Los Angeles last season, tallying a sack two QB hits. The Bears are Square’s third team this year. The Browns signed him in May but cut him in mid-August, leading the Saints to take a flier. But Square’s ninth season will begin with Chicago.

Additionally, the Bears are elevating linebacker Josh Woods from their practice squad. The 2020 CBA allows teams to bump up two players from P-squads on game days and dress 48 instead of 46.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Contract Restructures: Graham, Nassib, Ryan

September 7th, 2021 at 8:38pm CST by Ben Levine

With the start of Week 1 quickly approaching, NFL front offices are still finding ways to open some cap space. A handful of players restructured their contracts today, and we’ve compiled some of the notable transactions below:

TE Jimmy Graham, Bears: Converted $5.825MM of salary into signing bonus, opening $4.66MM in cap space while also adding four voidable years to contract (via ESPN’s Field Yates on Twitter). The veteran inked a two-year, $16MM deal with the Bears prior to last season, and he finished his first season in Chicago with 50 receptions for 456 yards and eight touchdowns.
DE Carl Nassib, Raiders: Converted $2.51MM of salary into a signing bonus, opening $2.008MM in cap space (via ESPN’s Field Yates on Twitter). Nassib inked a three-year, $25MM deal (including $16.75MM guaranteed) with the Raiders last offseason. The 28-year-old got into 14 games (five starts) during his first season in Las Vegas, finishing with 28 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and nine QB hits.
DB Logan Ryan, Giants: Converted “most of the base salary” into signing bonus (per NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport on Twitter). The veteran was set to earn around $5.5MM this upcoming season. After inking a one-year deal with the Giants last offseason, Ryan signed a three-year, $31MM extension (with $20MM guaranteed) in December. After switching from cornerback to safety, Ryan finished his first season in New York with 94 tackles, three forced fumbles, nine passes defended, and one interception.
OT Duane Brown, Seahawks: Converted $7MM of base salary into signing bonus, saving the team $3.5MM in cap space. After skipping training camp in pursuit of an extension, we learned earlier today that the veteran lineman got an extra year tacked onto his contract. Indeed, as veteran reporter John Clayton points out, Brown got an extra year “with an injury protection benefit for 2022.”