DeMarquis Gates

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/27/23

Here are Monday’s minor moves:

Chicago Bears

Green Bay Packers

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

  • Waived from reserve/retired list: WR John Ross

Los Angeles Rams

Minnesota Vikings

San Francisco 49ers

Ross signed a reserve/futures deal with the Chiefs in January but retired before training camp. The Combine 40-yard dash record holder now intends to resume his career, according to NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo. Ross, who turned 28 today, has not played in a regular-season game since 2021 with the Giants.

A Raiders spring signee, Shelley did not make Las Vegas’ 53-man roster. The Rams picked him up before the season and have used him mostly on special teams. Shelley, who Bears and Vikings prior to this two-team 2023, has logged 76 defensive snaps this season. But the veteran cornerback has been on the field for 65% of Los Angeles’ special teams plays.

Justin Fields To Play In Week 11; Bears To Activate RB Khalil Herbert From IR

NOVEMBER 18: The Bears made it official today, activating Herbert for the team’s Week 11 matchup in Detroit. It remains to be seen what Herbert’s role will be after he seemed to be firmly establishing himself as the lead back in the two games before his absence. Foreman has had a few decent performances since then while rookie Roschon Johnson has remained a change of pace back and Travis Homer has remained a special teamer.

The activation is the team’s eighth off of injured reserve this year, which is the limit for a season. If any other players are placed on IR, they will be forced to remain there for the rest of the year.

In addition to Herbert’s activation, the Bears announced their standard gameday practice squad elevations for tomorrow. They have selected linebacker Micah Baskerville and outside linebacker DeMarquis Gates to dress up against the Lions.

NOVEMBER 17: The Bears’ offense will see two significant reinforcements in time for Week 11. As expected, quarterback Justin Fields will suit up on Sunday as he was taken off the injury report. Running back Khalil Herbert, meanwhile, will be activated off IR, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network notes.

Fields has missed the past four games due to a thumb injury, but it was learned earlier this week that Chicago intended to bring the former first-rounder back into the fold. With that now confirmed, Fields can embark on a late-season stretch in which plenty of his post-2023 future will be determined. Recent indications have suggested Fields will need to convince the Bears’ brass – which was not in place when he was drafted – of his worth to avoid having the team draft a new signal-caller in April.

2023 has seen the 24-year-old continue to put up inconsistent numbers, and the thumb injury has added to his missed time. Fields is under contract through at least 2024, though the Bears could add one year to his rookie pact by exercising his fifth-year option this spring. Doing so would represent a sign of confidence in his progression, but the team is slated to have two high first-rounders in April’s draft. That would provide an opportunity to acquire a Fields successor and move on from the Ohio State alum. His play down the stretch will thus be worth watching closely.

Herbert was one of three players the Bears designated for return last week. The others – wideout Equanimeous St. Brown and cornerback Josh Blackwell were activated, but Herbert was not. The latter will notably represent the eighth and final IR activation used by Chicago this season. While their aggressiveness with using injured reserve as a means of stashing injured players has carried risk, Herbert’s return will be welcomed on the Bears’ offense.

The unit has struggled in a number of categories, although running production has not been one of them. The Bears rank fifth in the NFL with an average of 135 yards per game on the ground, and Herbert sits second on the team with 272 on the year. Free agent addition D’Onta Foreman has taken the lead in that department while logging a heavy workload in Herbert’s absence. It will be interesting to see how the RB snaps are divided with the team’s backfield returning to health.

The 3-7 Bears will aim to ride the return of Fields and Herbert to an uptick in offensive efficiency late in the year. With plenty at stake for the former (along with several members of the coaching staff and/or front office, in the view of many), Chicago will be a team to monitor in the closing weeks of the campaign.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/9/23

We have our first flood of pregame transactions of the season today as teams across the league with games tomorrow utilize their two permitted practice squad elevations:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Chicago Bears

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

  • Promoted from practice squad: LB Brevin Allen

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

  • Promoted from practice squad: RB Myles Gaskin, OLB Benton Whitley

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

Wednesday NFL Transactions: NFC North

Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline Tuesday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters. In addition to waiver claims, teams can begin constructing their 16-man practice squads today. These BearsLionsPackers and Vikings moves are noted below.

Chicago Bears

Placed on IR:

Signed:

Claimed:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

Detroit Lions

Claimed:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

Green Bay Packers

Claimed:

Released:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

Minnesota Vikings

Placed on IR:

Claimed:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

Bears Set Initial Roster, Waive DE Trevis Gipson

The Bears have been slowly trimming down their squad over the past few days, and the front office has now officially landed on their initial roster. The Bears announced the following moves, some of which were previously reported:

Placed on IR:

Released:

Waived:

Waived/injured:

The moves actually reduce Chicago’s roster to 52 players, so additions are certainly coming.

Trevis Gipson is a bit of a surprise cut after the former fifth-round pick got into 33 games (19 starts) for the Bears over the past two years. The defensive lineman showed some pass-rushing prowess during his rookie season, compiling seven sacks, seven tackles for loss, and seven QB hits. His numbers took a bit of a step back in 2022, with the Tulsa product finishing with only three sacks. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler (via Twitter), the Bears worked on a trade for Gipson and had “teams involved” in the bidding but couldn’t come to terms before today’s roster deadline.

Trestan Ebner was another Bears draft pick that got into 17 games last season. The 2022 sixth-round pick ended up getting 26 touches on offense, collecting 62 yards from scrimmage while coughing up two fumbles. Ebner also returned 10 kickoffs for Chicago last season. The running back has been in concussion protocol since the early parts of the preseason, and there’s a chance he reverts to the Bears’ injured reserve if he goes unclaimed.

Minor NFL Transactions: 1/4/23

Today’s minor NFL transactions:

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Chicago Bears

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Indianapolis Colts

Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints

Seattle Seahawks

Washington Commanders

  • Placed on IR: LB De’Jon Harris

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/31/22

Today’s roster moves heading into gameday:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

  • Promoted from practice squad: G Kyle Hinton, DL T.J. Smith

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Washington Commanders

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/26/22

The league’s minor moves and standard gameday elevations for Week 12:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

New York Jets

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

Bears Reduce Roster To 53 Players

The Bears trimmed their roster to the NFL’s mandatory 53-man limit today:

Released:

Waived:

Placed on IR:

Michael Schofield III is an experienced starter with more than 100 NFL games under his belt, but it was immediately clear that he was competing for a roster spot when he inked a deal worth only $1.12MM. He ultimately lost out on a starting gig in Chicago to Teven Jenkins, who was mentioned as a trade candidate only yesterday.

Sam Kamara got into eight games with Chicago in 2021 while mostly appearing on special teams. Nsimba Webster got into six games with the Bears last year, returning four punts for 13 yards. Both of these young players are candidates to return to Chicago’s practice squad to start the 2022 campaign.

Nathan Peterman is also expected to land back on the Bears’ practice squad, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). After tossing three touchdowns vs. 12 interceptions in two seasons with Buffalo, Peterman spent the past three years with the Raiders, getting into only a pair of games. Justin Fields and Trevor Siemian are the only two QBs on the Bears active roster, so Peterman will see a promotion if either of those two are sidelined.

Bears, Browns Sign Two Former USFL Stars

Two star defenders from the 2022 United States Football League’s inaugural season signed NFL contracts today. DeMarquis Gates, considered one of the top linebackers in the USFL this spring, has signed with the Bears, according to Matt Lombardo of Heavy Sports. Edge rusher Chris Odom, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year for the USFL, signed today with the Browns, according to Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network.

Gates has dipped his toe in the NFL before, spending offseason or practice squad time with Cleveland, Washington, and Minnesota. In between all of those stints and now, Gates played in the Alliance of American Football in 2019, the XFL in 2020, and the Canadian Football League in 2021, before dominating in the USFL this past spring. His persistence in sticking with professional football no matter the league could pay off with his newest NFL opportunity.

The Bears cupboard is fairly thin at linebacker behind Roquan Smith after losing Alec Ogletree to free agency and trading away Khalil Mack. Chicago responded to the losses by bringing former Raiders linebacker Nicholas Morrow and former Colts linebacker Matthew Adams. Neither have extensive full-time starting experience and Morrow, who has the greater amount of starting experience, didn’t play at all in 2021 due to a foot injury. If Gates can impress in the preseason, not only could he snag a roster spot, he could earn a key role on the Bears’ defense.

After earning the Defensive Player of the Year award for the USFL this spring, Odom has been auditioning all over the NFL, taking workouts with the Bengals, Cardinals, Chiefs, Saints, and Texans, before eventually acing the workout with the Browns. Odom has a bit more NFL experience, racking up 16 tackles in 11 games played. Odom spent offseason and practice squad time with the Falcons in 2017 and 2019, getting waived after both stints and finding his way to NFL action immediately after both times. In 2017, Odom signed with the Packers and got six tackles over seven games. In 2019, Odom signed with Washington and got 10 tackles and 2.0 sacks in just four games. In between those opportunities, Odom spent time in the AAF in 2018 and the CFL in 2021 before dominating USFL offenses. Odom, like Gates, is now being given an opportunity to be a golden example of what happens when you don’t give up on your NFL dreams.

Cleveland famously has two of the league’s better pass rushers in Myles Garrett and Jadeveon Clowney. The two combined for over half of the Browns’ sacks last year with 25.0. The depth behind Garrett and Clowney is not ideal, though, with rookie third-round pick Alex Wright and former Vikings defensive end Stephen Weatherly as the primary backups on the depth chart. Odom has a real opportunity to find his way into the pass rushing rotation after leading the USFL with 12.5 sacks this past spring.

The USFL is striving to do what many other fledging leagues have attempted: cement their status as a minor league to the NFL. If top performers like Gates and Odom can find their way onto NFL rosters and into key roles, it could say a lot about the staying power of the USFL as a potential feeder-league.