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Wednesday NFL Transactions: NFC North

August 27th, 2025 at 3:17pm CST by Sam Robinson

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 Bears, Lions, Packers and Vikings moves are noted below.

Chicago Bears

Claimed:

Released:

Signed to practice squad:

Detroit Lions

Signed:

Claimed:

Signed to practice squad:

Green Bay Packers

Signed:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

Minnesota Vikings

Signed to practice squad:

Bears Activate Jaylon Johnson, Cut Roster Down To 53

August 26th, 2025 at 5:44pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Bears made a flurry of move to trim their roster down to 53 players on Tuesday, per a team announcement, headlined by the activation of Pro Bowl cornerback Jaylon Johnson from the physically unable to perform list.

Johnson missed all of training camp after injuring his leg during offseason training. Chicago is hoping that he can be ready for Week 1, per Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune, but the 26-year-old still hasn’t returned to the practice field. Keeping him on the 53-man roster suggests that the team believe he has a good chance of coming back in the first four weeks of the season.

The Bears also activated Tory Taylor to the roster in a procedural move. The Australian-born punter was given an international exemption to give Chicago an extra, 91st roster spot during the offseason, but he cannot keep the exemption and remain on the 53-man roster.

Here are the rest of the Bears’ roster moves:

Placed on injured reserve (designated to return)

Waived/injured

Waived

Released

Homer appeared in 10 games for the Bears in 2024, primarily on special teams. He re-signed in Chicago this offseason and will spent a minimum of four games on the sidelines to start the year as he deals with a calf injury, per Biggs. Ogbongbemiga, also a returning special teams ace, will also be out for at least four weeks after injuring his shoulder.

The Bears tried to trade McFadden before final roster cuts, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, but were unable to find a partner and waived the former Charger.

Pickens and Scott are two 2023 draft picks that will not survive the team’s coaching change. Pickett, the first pick of the third round, started three games last year and appeared in six more with minimal production. Scott, a fourth-round pick, started four games as a rookie before fading into the background with just one reception in 2024.

Richardson is a practice squad candidate after a strong training camp, per Biggs. So is Stromberg, according to Adam Jahn of CHGO Sports. The former Commanders third-round pick will provide depth at center behind Drew Dalman and Ryan Bates.

Kpassagnon followed Dennis Allen to Chicago this offseason and signed a one-year deal with no guaranteed money, making him an ideal candidate to be released and re-signed to the practice squad via a handshake agreement. That appears to be the plan, according to Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times, which will keep the veteran linemen available for early-season elevations to the active roster.

Bears Announce 10-Man UDFA Class

May 10th, 2025 at 3:29pm CST by Ely Allen

The Bears enjoyed a draft that saw them make four of the first 62 draft picks (one in the first round and three in the second). This week, they announced that they have added 10 undrafted free agents to their existing eight-man draft class. Here are the 10 new rookie signees:

The biggest name of note here is Echols. In fact, Chicago was willing to give Echols $130K in total guarantees in order land his signature in undrafted free agency, per Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2. Echols is a hard worker who was a three-year starter for the Tar Heels. His first two seasons saw him accumulate 205 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, three forced fumbles, five pass defensed, and two interceptions. While his senior season saw a dip in his tackle numbers (76 total, 1.5 tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks), his coverage ability showed improvement as he logged 7 passes defensed and a 42-yard interception return for a touchdown.

That coverage ability will be tested at the NFL level, though. Part of the reason Echols slid out of the draft, despite his tenacity and effort, was because his 5-foot-11 frame will make it difficult for him to cover tight ends at the next level and his lack of top end speed (4.73 40-yard dash time at the NFL Scouting Combine) will make it difficult for him to cover running backs at the next level. We’ve seen plenty of undersized backers find success in the NFL, though, and Echols will get his opportunity in Chicago.

The team also will take a chance with two specialists in Elkin and Kim. Kim faces a tall task of landing a roster spot, despite having a collegiate long of 58 yards and coming off of a year in East Lansing in which he made 19 of 21 kicks. Cairo Santos has held down the kicking job in the Windy City since 2020 with admirable consistency. He signed a four-year extension in 2023 intended to keep him in place through the 2027 NFL season, and he rewarded them last year by making eight of nine attempts from over 50 yards.

Elkin, on the other hand, stands a better shot at making a roster. The former Hawkeye will come in to compete with 31-year-old Scott Daly, who will be playing on his second one-year deal with the Bears.