Bears finalize 53-man roster, keep three QBs and three RBs

Ariana Pensy · Correspondent · 19 hours ago

CHICAGO - The Chicago Bears have initially narrowed their roster down to 53 players.

There are varying perspectives on how many quarterbacks a team should keep, and the Bears have elected to keep three - Caleb Williams, Tyson Bagent, and Case Keenum.

“We will be going forward with three quarterbacks. Caleb and Tyson and Case, those will be our three guys here,” head coach Ben Johnson said. “I think I alluded to it in the past, feel strongly about that room and really like the makeup, the chemistry and the growth that we’ve seen over the course of the spring and the summer so far.”

They also chose to keep three running backs - D’Andre Swift, Roschon Johnson, and seventh-round draft selection Kyle Monangai. Johnson and Monangai are currently injured, leaving Swift as the only healthy back on the roster.

Nonetheless, Ben Johnson feels good about the running back room and how running back coach Eric Bieniemy has prepared them.

“I feel really good about the coach that we have in that room. Eric Bieniemy’s been doing a phenomenal job getting those guys ready. I think it starts there. I’ve been pleased with Swifty and everything he’s shown over the course of camp and then we’ve got some young guys that maybe don’t have as many skins on the wall. But, they’re hungry and they’re learning and I feel good about it. So, I think we’re in a good spot right now,” Johnson said. “I think the injury part of it, that’s the most troubling and most concerning part right now is just making sure we have enough depth so that we have a full stable of guys going forward. But, I have full confidence that week one and really for the whole season, we’re going to be just fine there.”

Last season, Swift was supposed to be Chicago’s leading running back. While he did end up having the most rushing yards on the Bears, he had under 1,000 rushing yards for the fourth time in his five-year career. During the final preseason game, Swift showed some flashes of the kind of player he could be, including hurdling over a Kansas City defender.

Plays like that show Johnson that Swift has the potential to be a spark for the offense this season.

“He’s got that ability to be a spark for us and I’ve known that for years about the guy. Particularly when we’re a little bit stale coming out of the gate, he wants to be that guy to get us back on track and I think that’s what the good running backs do in this league is their teammates will feed off of them,” Johnson said. “All it takes is for one big play. He had the hurdle on the sideline and I thought that was a good thing to see and so, explosive player. Want to get the ball in his hands with some space as much as we possibly can and I thought the cool thing you saw in that game was a couple of short yardage opportunities and he was willing to lower his shoulders and find a way to get the yard. So, happy with where he’s at.”

Perhaps the biggest hurdle for Chicago’s offense this season could be itself. As the game against the Chiefs demonstrated, the Bears have been struggling to start off strong. If this is something that happens in the regular season, they could dig themselves into a hole they cannot get out of.

This is a problem Johnson identified in training camp and is actively working to address now, before it impacts the regular season.

“The slow start, that’s not what we want to be about,” Johnson said. “I felt that in practice at times over the course of camp and so, we’re on a mission right now just to make sure that doesn’t become a constant recurring theme as we go into the season and so, I think, like anything, you bring it to their attention and we got a bunch of pros and a bunch of prideful guys and we’ll get this thing fixed.”