Greg Stroman

Bears Place C Lucas Patrick On IR

The Bears have placed starting center Lucas Patrick on injured reserve, ending his 2023 NFL season a day early. Obviously, this doesn’t mean much as Patrick will only miss one game and Chicago is already mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. The move is a common one seen this week as many teams will utilize IR to help lock promising practice squad players down on active roster contracts.

For the Bears, that player seems to be practice squad cornerback Greg Stroman. With Patrick vacating a spot on the active roster, Stroman has signed to the 53-man squad for this week. In two years with the Bears, Stroman has appeared in nine games, making two starts. In each of those two starts, Stroman has recorded an interception. With Stroman now on the active roster, Chicago will have an opportunity to keep him away from free agency in the offseason, essentially guaranteeing him another year with the Bears, if that’s what they agree to.

With Patrick unavailable, practice squad center Doug Kramer has been called up as a standard gameday elevation to provide some depth on the interior offensive line. Joining Kramer as a one-week elevation will be cornerback Christian Matthew.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 11/10/23

Today’s practice squad moves heading into the 10th weekend of the NFL season:

Arizona Cardinals

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Minnesota Vikings

Seattle Seahawks

  • Released: NT Matthew Gotel

Morgan was signed on Wednesday to serve as an extra arm in practice amid the season-long loss of Kirk Cousins and with backup quarterback Jaren Hall still in concussion protocol, leaving only Sean Mannion behind recent acquisition Joshua Dobbs at quarterback. The undrafted free agent rookie was originally signed by the Steelers, but after not making the initial 53-man roster or practice squad to start the season in Pittsburgh, Morgan returned to his alma mater at the University of Minnesota in order to serve as an offensive analyst on the Golden Gophers staff.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/8/23

Today’s minor moves:

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Houston Texans

Minnesota Vikings

Seattle Seahawks

Cory Littleton is back in Houston. The linebacker already got into six games with the Texans this season, mostly playing on special teams. After getting cut in late October, he caught on with the Saints practice squad and quickly earned a promotion on Sunday. This time around, Littleton should be sticking in Houston, at least temporarily. The Texans are required to keep the LB on their active roster for at least three weeks.

The veteran had a productive stint with the Rams to begin his career. He spent four years in Los Angeles, including a two-year stint between 2018 and 2019 where he averaged 129 tackles per season.

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/29/23

Here are this Friday’s minor NFL transactions:

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Houston Texans

Miami Dolphins

The Bears will now need a backup plan for their backup plan. Blackwell became the primary nickel cornerback in Chicago after the team placed Kyler Gordon on injured reserve. The loss of Blackwell will likely mean more responsibility for veteran defensive back Greg Stroman.

Harper was recently waived by Dallas in hopes that he would be able to sign with the Cowboys’ practice squad after clearing waivers, according to Todd Archer of ESPN. Unfortunately, they’ll lose control of his contract completely as Cincinnati exercised its waiver claim.

Rivers is being released with much the same intention as Harper, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2. Houston shouldn’t encounter as many hurdles as the Cowboys, though, since Rivers is a vested veteran and doesn’t need to hit the waiver wire before signing a new contract.

Bears Place CB Kyler Gordon On IR

The hand injury Kyler Gordon suffered in Week 1 will sideline him for an extended period. The Bears feared Gordon suffered a broken hand in the Bears’ opener, per the Chicago Tribune’s Brad Biggs, and have since placed him on IR.

Gordon must miss at least four games. He underwent surgery this week, with The Athletic’s Adam Jahns confirming that the second-year corner sustained a broken hand. That said, Jahns adds Gordon is expected back when first eligible (Week 6).

Chicago drafted Gordon in the 2022 second round and have used him as a starter since doing so. Gordon shifted into a full-time slot role this offseason, accommodating the team’s latest second-round corner investment (Tyrique Stevenson). Gordon suffered the injury on a blitz in Chicago’s loss to Green Bay on Sunday.

Rolling out a Gordon-Stevenson-Jaylon Johnson trio comprised of Round 2 picks, the Bears have devoted notable draft capital to this spot. They will not have a chance to see the trio in action together again until mid-October. Players placed on IR in-season must miss at least four contests. Clubs can activate up to eight players from the injured list during a season.

The Bears will be set to turn to Josh Blackwell as their primary nickel, per the Chicago Sun-Times’ Mark Potash. A 2022 Eagles UDFA-turned-Bears waiver claim, Blackwell played in 16 Bears games last season but logged only 133 defensive snaps. The Bears also promoted Greg Stroman from their practice squad. Stroman is a sixth-year vet who has been with the Bears since April 2022. The former Washington seventh-round pick played in two games for Chicago last year.

Chosen 39th overall out of Washington, Gordon joins both Stevenson and Blackwell in being acquired during the Ryan Poles regime’s run. A Ryan Pace-era draftee, Johnson is going into a contract year. The Bears are looking to rebound from a last-place defensive showing last season. Their 2023 effort did not start well, with the Packers putting up 38 points in a Week 1 rout.

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.

NFL Reserve/Futures Deals: 1/26/23

Today’s reserve/futures deals:

Chicago Bears

Dallas Cowboys

Houston Texans

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Minor NFL Transactions: 1/7/23

Today’s minor transactions heading into the final Sunday of the regular season:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

  • Promoted from practice squad: WR Josh Ali

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New York Giants

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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