53- PLAYER PICKUP
Training camp starts Wednesday in Bourbonnais, but our fearless prognosticator predicts who will be on the final roster and who is on the proverbial bubble
The NFL’s new cutdown rule has eliminated the first round of roster moves, meaning the Bears will have all four preseason games to determine who makes the team and which 27 players, on Sept. 2, will be part of the bloodiest day in league history.
With the Bears ready to report to training camp Wednesday in Bourbonnais, here’s how we handicap each player’s odds of making the 53- man roster:
SPECIALISTS
They’ll likely keep: 3. They’re in: K Connor Barth, P Pat O’Donnell, LS Patrick Scales. They’re out: K Andy Phillips.
Battle towatch: Bears vs. cut day. Robbie Gould’s release last year proved GM Ryan Pace won’t hesitate to look outside Halas Hall.
The big number: 14— Barth has made 14 of his last 16 field goal tries.
He said it: ‘‘ You can protect yourself, fair catch and stuff, but that pressure environment, that’s why you have preseason games.’’ — special teams coordinator Jeff Rodgers
OFFENSE
Quarterbacks They’ll likely keep: 3. They’re in: Mike Glennon, Mark Sanchez, Mitch Trubisky. They’re out: Connor Shaw. Battle towatch: Trubisky vs. the learning curve. The No. 2 overall pick’s intangibles won’t be on display until he faces other teams in preseason games. A solid August would help his confidence before heading to the sideline. The big number: 11— Regular- season passes attempted by Glennon since the end of the 2014 season. He said it: ‘‘ I’ve been in similar situations, but no, not the same as what this is. Ultimately I’m just trying to focus on right now.’’— Glennon
Running backs
They’ll likely keep: 4. They’re in: Jordan Howard, Jeremy Langford, Tarik Cohen.
They’re on the bubble: Ka’Deem Carey, Benny Cunningham, Michael Burton, Freddie Stevenson.
They’re out: Joel Bouagnon.
Battle towatch: Carey vs. Cunningham. Special teams prowess will dictate a roster spot, and Cunningham has 2,575 kick- return yards since 2013.
The big number: 12— Carries by Howard in the first three games last year.
He said it: ‘‘ I don’t want to come off the field as much.’’— Howard
Wide receivers
They’ll likely keep: 6. They’re in: Cam Meredith, Kevin White, Markus Wheaton, Josh Bellamy.
They’re on the bubble: Victor Cruz, Kendall Wright, Deonte Thompson, Daniel Braverman.
They’re out: Titus Davis, Tanner Gentry, Rueben Randle.
Battle towatch: White vs. his body. After playing four games in two years, White has a lot riding on his health. The Bears must decide on his fifth- year option after this season.
The big number: 62— Catches by Victor Cruz in the last two seasons combined. He’d never had fewer than 73 in a year.
He said it: ‘‘ I think his past two position coaches probably weren’t able to develop him as much as they would have liked because of the injury setback. So I get to almost start from square one.’’— WR coach Zach Azzanni, on White
Tight ends
They’ll likely keep: 3. They’re in: Dion Sims, Adam Shaheen.
They’re on the bubble: Zach Miller, Daniel Brown. They’re out: Ben Braunecker, MyCole Pruitt.
Battle towatch: Miller vs. Brown. The Bears prepared for life without Miller when they gave Sims $ 10 million guaranteed and used their second- round pick on Shaheen. Brown is seven years younger and makes the minimum; Miller, 32, is recovering from foot surgery.
The big number: 74— Catches in Sims’ fouryear career.
He said it: ‘‘ I think a lot of times, tight ends that cross over from college football to the NFL, the hardest thing is the blocking. But he has a lot of the measurables that it takes to do it.’’ — Coach John Fox on Shaheen
Offensive line
They’ll likely keep: 9. They’re in: Charles Leno, Kyle Long, Cody Whitehair, Josh Sitton, Bobby Massie. They’re on the bubble: Eric Kush, Hroniss Grasu, Tom Compton, Bradley Sowell, Jordan Morgan. They’re out: Mitchell Kirsch, Taylor Boggs, William Poehls, Cyril Richardson, Dieugot Joseph. Battle towatch: Kush vs. Grasu. The Bears gave Kush— who plays guard and center— a two- year deal, but Grasu is one year, and one ACL tear, removed from being the starting center. The big number: 73— Only eight teams gave up fewer quarterback hits than the Bears’ 73. He said it: ‘‘ Kinesthetically, it’s different as far as how you fit, how you squeeze, the directions.” — Fox, on flipping Long to left guard and Sitton to right guard
DEFENSE Defensive line
They’ll likely keep: 6. They’re in: Eddie Goldman, Akiem Hicks, Jonathan Bullard. They’re on the bubble: Jaye Howard, Mitch Unrein, John Jenkins, C. J. Wilson, Roy Robertson- Harris.
They’re out: Kapron Lewis-Moore, Rashaad Coward.
Battle towatch: Howard vs. his hip. Howard missed eight games last year with a hip injury that required bone- spur surgery, and was cut by the Chiefs. A starting job is open.
The big number: 18.4— Percent of the Bears’ snaps Goldman ( high- ankle sprain) played last year.
He said it: ‘‘ You felt like, if he would have gotten the opportunity to play more, you would have seen a lot of production.” — DL coach Jay Rodgers, on Goldman
Outside linebackers
They’ll likely keep: 5. They’re in: Leonard Floyd, Pernell McPhee, Willie Young. They’re on the bubble: Lamarr Houston, Sam Acho, Dan Skuta. They’re out: Hendrick Ekpe, Isaiah Irving. Battle towatch: Floyd vs. the tackling dummy. After suffering two concussions in five weeks— and not feeling like himself until February— Floyd spent the offseason focusing on keeping his head up when he tackles.
The big number: 2— Two rookies had more sacks than Floyd’s seven.
He said it: ‘‘ Just dominate in the NFL. . . . That’s what I want us to do, and that’s what I think we’re going to do.”— McPhee
Inside linebackers
They’ll likely keep: 4.
They’re
in: Danny Trevathan, Jerrell Freeman, Nick Kwiatkoski. They’re on the bubble: Christian Jones, John Timu, Jonathan Anderson. They’re out: Alex Scearce. Battle towatch: Trevathan vs. the trainer. Trevathan could start camp on the physically unable- to- perform list as he rehabs from a ruptured right patellar tendon suffered in November. The big number: 7— Starts for Kwiatkoski as a rookie. He said it: ‘‘ The strengths are knowing and understanding what everybody is doing and then being able to play fast.’’ — Freeman
Cornerbacks
They’ll likely keep: 5. They’re in: Prince Amukamara, Marcus Cooper. They’re on the bubble: Bryce Callahan, Cre’Von LeBlanc, Sherrick McManis, Kyle Fuller, Johnthan Banks, B. W. Webb. They’re out: Rashaad Reynolds. Battle towatch:
Callahan vs. LeBlanc. The Bears are set on the outside with their two new additions, but Callahan and LeBlanc will fight for the starting slot position.
The big number: 1— One team, the Jaguars, finished with fewer interceptions than the Bears’ eight.
He said it: ‘‘ Hopefully he’s ready for his career to take off a little bit.”— defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, on Cooper
Safeties
They’ll likely keep: 5. They’re in: Adrian Amos, Quintin Demps, Eddie Jackson.
They’re on the bubble: Harold Jones-Quartey, Deiondre Hall, Deon Bush, DeAndre Houston- Carson, Chris Prosinski.
Battle towatch: Jackson vs. Amos. If Jackson, the fourth- round pick, is healthy and shows the ball- hawking skills he displayed at Alabama, he could surpass Amos, who has started 30 times in two years.
The big number: 32— Demps, 32, is the Bears’ oldest player.
He said it: ‘‘ I know [ takeaways] are man- made. I know we can cause them to happen.’’— DBs coach Ed Donatell Follow me on Twitter @ patrickfinley.