The Chicago Bears open training camp on July 26 at Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Illinois. Here's a 53-man roster projection:
QUARTERBACKS (3): Mike Glennon, Mitchell Trubisky, Mark Sanchez
Chicago could opt to keep only two quarterbacks, but Sanchez is guaranteed $1 million in 2017.
RUNNING BACKS (4): Jordan Howard, Tarik Cohen, Jeremy Langford, Benny Cunningham
Langford, who didn't appear to do much in the offseason program, is on the bubble after a disappointing sophomore season, but I'll give him the slight nod over veteran Ka'Deem Carey. Cunningham makes the cut because of special teams.
FULLBACK (1): Michael Burton
Burton signed with the Bears after appearing in 31 games for Detroit in 2015-16.
WIDE RECEIVER (6): Cameron Meredith, Kevin White, Markus Wheaton, Victor Cruz, Kendall Wright, Josh Bellamy
My hunch is Cruz will make enough plays in the preseason to solidify a roster spot. The Bears gave Cruz a $500,000 signing bonus. Wright has $1 million guaranteed. Bellamy is terrific on special teams and deserves to make the 53.
TIGHT END (4): Dion Sims, Adam Shaheen, Ben Braunecker, Zach Miller
Miller's roster spot depends entirely on his health. If he doesn't recover in time from a foot injury, the Bears could easily keep Daniel Brown and cut Miller. Braunecker flashed potential early last season but never got on track because of an injury.
OFFENSIVE LINE (8): Kyle Long, Josh Sitton, Bobby Massie, Charles Leno, Cody Whitehair, Tom Compton, Eric Kush, Jordan Morgan
It's hard to include Hroniss Grasu because we don't know when he'll receive medical clearance to return from last year's torn ACL. If Grasu makes a full recovery, the Bears could keep nine offensive linemen and trim a spot from another position.
DEFENSIVE LINE (6): Akiem Hicks, Mitch Unrein, Jonathan Bullard, Jaye Howard, Eddie Goldman, John Jenkins
C.J. Wilson is probably the next man up if a defensive lineman suffers an injury in the preseason.
LINEBACKERS (8): Pernell McPhee, Danny Trevathan, Willie Young, Leonard Floyd, Jerrell Freeman, Christian Jones, Nick Kwiatkowski, Dan Skuta
Trevathan could begin the regular season on the physically unable to perform list, which would allow the Bears to keep an extra linebacker. Sam Acho or John Timu? Lamarr Houston is scheduled to earn a base salary of $5.950 million, but he's out of guaranteed money. Are there any snaps to go around for Houston with Floyd, McPhee and Young already penciled in to start/play?
CORNERBACK (6): Prince Amukamara, Marcus Cooper, Cre'Von LeBlanc, Bryce Callahan, Sherrick McManis, B.W. Webb
I left Kyle Fuller off the list because I wouldn't be surprised if Chicago tries to trade him in the preseason. That being said, Fuller looked good in the offseason program, so if he's still around, he could crack the 53. McManis is a core special-teamer.
SAFETY (4): Quintin Demps, Adrian Amos, Eddie Jackson, Harold Jones-Quartey
I'd like to keep Chris Prosinski. I bet he does end up on the roster, but for my purposes here, I have to take Jones-Quartey because of his recent starting experience. The Bears might also want to keep former draft pick Deon Bush, but I didn't see Bush stand out last year. Converted cornerback Deiondre Hall makes sense on the practice squad.
SPECIALISTS (3): Connor Barth, Pat O’Donnell, Patrick Scales
The specialists figure to remain intact unless someone suffers an injury.