The Chicago Bears made their first wave of roster cuts on Saturday night, trimming the roster down to 53 players. The team also added outside linebacker Khalil Mack via a trade with the Oakland Raiders, meaning the team still has to make one more cut to get the roster to where it needs to be. In addition to finalizing its 53-man roster the team will also be looking to build its 10-player practice squad. The practice squad helps give teams the ability to develop players and they do not count toward the 53-man roster. Typically rookies or first-year players, practice squad players must have less than three years experience in order to be placed on the practice squad. If another team wants to sign a player of another team's practice squad that player must go on the 53-man roster. If a player is put through waivers he can be added to another team's practice squad. On Sunday the team waived offensive lineman Hroniss Grasu, placed tight end Adam Shaheen on injured reserve and signed Mack and defensive lineman Nick Williams to the active roster. The team is still working on filling out its practice squad, but we know a few names as of right now. Below is a look at the eight players Chicago added to the practice squad: RB Ryan Nall WR Tanner Gentry OLB Josh Woods CB Michael Joseph OT Dejon Allen DT Abdullah Anderson QB Tyler Bray RB Taquan Mizzell Ryan Nall became a fan favorite during the preseason as an undrafted free agent out of Oregon State. In his NFL debut in the Hall of Fame Game back on August 2, Nall ran the ball seven times for 13 yards and caught one pass for five yards. The following week against the Cincinnati Bengals he made his mark. He carried the ball nine times for 95 yards with a long of 69 yards. He also caught one pass for nine yards. Against Denver he saw his lowest amount of work in the preseason, running the ball four times for just 10 yards. In the dress rehearsal game against the Kansas City Chiefs on August 25, Nall ran the ball eight times for 26 yards and caught one pass for nine yards. His strongest performance came on Thursday night in the preseason finale. Nall carried the ball just four times but picked up 79 yards on the ground with a long of 32 yards. He also scored his first touchdown of the preseason. In the passing game he also caught one pass for two yards. He is viewed as someone who can develop into a fullback/H-back hybrid for the Bears on offense. Gentry is another fan favorite for Chicago. This preseason he caught 16 passes for 144 yards with a long of 16 yards and one touchdown. He had a few opportunities last season after going undrafted but spent most of last season on the practice squad. He is still a work in progress for the Bears at wide receiver. Woods went from a safety in college to a linebacker for the Bears in the offseason. He was injured against the Cincinnati Bengals and was unable to get back onto the field. At Maryland he finished off his senior season with 62 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, two interceptions, four pass deflections and one forced fumble. Woods saw action against the Baltimore Ravens in the Hall of Fame game to begin his NFL career During that contest he was credited with three tackles and played a total of 18 snaps on defense. The majority of his work came on special teams and he recorded a special teams tackle. Dejon Allen is listed as a tackle but can also play the guard position. He is another undrafted rookie who impressed the coaching staff this offseason. Anderson showed off an ability to make plays against both the run and the pass and could conceivably make his way onto the 53-man roster at some point this season. Mizzell received a large workload during the preseason for Chicago at the running back position. He carried the ball 34 times for 81 yards and scored one rushing touchdown. He also caught 13 passes for 79 yards and scored one receiving touchdown. Chicago was also able to bring back Bray. The young quarterback had more throwing attempts in the preseason than any other quarterback on the roster. He completed 60 of his 97 passing attempts for 652 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. He understands this offense because of his time spent in Kansas City and remains a player quarterback Mitch Trubisky can lean on during the season. Lastly, Joseph performed well for Chicago as an undrafted free agent. From nearby Oswego, Illinois, Joseph received extensive playing time during the preseason. He finished with 11 tackles on defense in the preseason.<doc-sep>In the midst of the euphoric afterglow of the Chicago Bears’ trade for Khalil Mack, general manager Ryan Pace still had to conduct important business with the 53-man roster and the important 10-man practice squad for the regular season. Sunday was a mad dash to add those practice squad players after all 32 teams’ final rosters were submitted to the NFL league office at 4:00 p.m. EST Saturday. The Bears signed eight players to their practice squad, all of whom spent time with Chicago this summer. Here is the Bears’ practice squad so far: QB: Tyler Bray OL: Dejon Allen WR: Tanner Gentry RB: Ryan Nall, Taquan Mizzell DL: Abdullah Anderson LB: Josh Woods<doc-sep>The Chicago Bears announced their 10-man practice squad on Monday morning. The players who were added are as follows: Offensive lineman Dejon Allen Defensive lineman Abdullah Anderson Quarterback Tyler Bray Wide receiver Tanner Gentry Cornerback Michael Joseph Cornerback Jonathon Mincy Running back Taquan Mizzell Running back Ryan Nall Offensive lineman James Stone Linebacker Josh Woods Only one of the players on the practice squad was not on the Bears throughout the off-season: James Stone. He was released by the Oakland Raiders on Saturday after spending most of 2017 on the team’s practice squad. An undrafted free agent out of Tennessee in 2014, Stone’s most memorable season came in his rookie year, when he played in 12 games and started nine as a member of the Atlanta Falcons. Among those whom the Bears waived and chose not to add to their practice squad are Cavon Walker, Rashard Fant and 2017 fifth-round pick Jordan Morgan. Morgan’s absence is especially surprising, given that he was a draft pick just one year ago. Jacob Infante is a Chicago Bears and NFL Draft writer at SB Nation’s Windy City Gridiron. He also covers the NFL Draft for USA Today SMG’s Draft Wire. He can be reached through Twitter @jacobinfante24 or e-mailed at jacobinfante1208@gmail.com.<doc-sep>
The Chicago Bears have announced the signing of nine practice squad players. Where would each one rank regard the likelihood that they could get called up to the 53-man roster? The Chicago Bears 53-man roster selection was one of the more cut and dry than recent years. Minor surprises were handled with reasonable decision making. As news has trickled out as to who has made the practice squad, most names are not too surprising. The Chicago Bears have only signed nine players to the practice squad as of now. This means that they can sign one more player to the team. Three names that stand out from my practice squad candidate post are Cavon Walker, Jordan Morgan, and Nick Orr. Of the three, Walker makes the most sense to be brought in. Still, until any of those three are brought in, we will evaluate the other nine based on how likely the Chicago Bears are to call that particular player up to the 53-man roster. 9. Josh Woods Josh Woods is a safety turned linebacker from Maryland. He is a physical, in the box player, but stands at just barely over 200 pounds. The Chicago Bears like what they have in him, and have used him on special teams early into the preseason. However, they also likely understand his limitations. Woods is a player who can use an entire year in an NFL facility, with an NFL workout program and diet plan. Next year, he could be competing for the fifth inside linebacker spot. However, an injury to an inside linebacker who likely result in calling John Timu or Jonathan Anderson before calling up the undrafted rookie.