The Bears practiced in shells Saturday at Halas Hall, their final workout before Tuesday's deadline to trim their roster to 53 players. Here's what transpired:
Starters on both sides of the ball received expanded reps because they sat out Thursday night's preseason finale against the Chiefs in Kansas City.
Receiver DJ Moore stood out, catching several passes from quarterback Caleb Williams and also preventing an interception by knocking a ball away from cornerback Terell Smith along the sideline.
Backup quarterback Tyson Bagent provided a highlight by completing a long pass to receiver Tyler Scott down the right sideline for a touchdown.
Safety Jaquan Brisker led the defense, intercepting a pass in the end zone and chasing down Williams from behind for what would have been a sack.
New additions
The Bears' trades for defensive end Darrell Taylor (Seahawks) and defensive tackle Chris Williams (Browns) became official when they passed their physicals.
Both players will fit in well with the team's "HITS" principle.
"We don't bring guys in here that don't like to play hard," said coach Matt Eberflus. "It's important that we watch the tape, and we have guys that have our DNA to start and then we can take them to the next level once they get here."
Taylor arrives after playing in all 49 games the past three years for Seattle and registering 91 tackles, 21.5 sacks, 22 tackles-for-loss and five forced fumbles.
"Taylor is a really good edge guy," Eberflus said. "He's had good sack production. We feel good about that. I think he brings a different skill set than we have out there in terms of the way he rushes. What I like most about him is his motor. He's got a great motor. He finishes. Needs some refinement at the top of the rush, which we'll work on that, but he pursues and does everything that everybody else does in the building that we expect and what we hold guys accountable to."
Williams has appeared in 13 NFL games over two seasons with the Colts in 2021-22. When he entered the league with Indianapolis in 2020 as an undrafted free agent from Wagner, Eberflus was the team's defensive coordinator.
"He was a young guy back then and [I] really commended him on the improvement he has made over the last couple years," Eberflus said. "He's done a really good job of refining his skill set and his pass rush and him playing the run. He does a really good job, uses his length really well."
In the trenches
Eberflus did not have an update on fourth-year tackle Larry Borom, who exited the preseason finale with an ankle injury. But the Bears coach said he would be comfortable utilizing versatile six-year pro Matt Pryor as the team's swing tackle.
Pryor signed with the Bears in March after spending his first five NFL seasons with the Eagles (2019-20), Colts (2021-22) and 49ers (2023), playing in 75 games with 24 starts.
"Pryor for swing tackle? Yeah," Eberflus said. "We love Pryor. Pryor can play all positions. That's why we love him. He could go inside, outside. He doesn't play center, but he can move inside, outside, guard on both sides, tackle on both sides. We're excited about him."
Roster moves
The Bears on Saturday placed receiver Nsimba Webster and running back Ian Wheeler on injured reserve, waived/injured safety Douglas Coleman III, terminated the contract of tight end Tommy Sweeney and waived defensive tackle Keith Randolph Jr..
Webster, Wheeler and Coleman all were injured in Thursday night's preseason finale.
Webster joined the Bears Sept. 1, 2021, when he was claimed off waivers from the 49ers. He has appeared in eight games the past two seasons, all as a reserve, catching two passes for 14 yards and returning four punts for 13 yards.
Webster entered the NFL with the Rams in 2019 as an undrafted free agent from Eastern Washington. He played in 21 games in two seasons with Los Angeles, all as a reserve, averaging 22.4 yards on 18 kickoff returns and 6.3 yards on 32 punt returns.
Wheeler signed with the Bears this year as an undrafted free agent from Howard. In the preseason, he rushed for 52 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries.
Coleman joined the Bears in January after spending the previous three seasons playing for the Ottawa Redblacks in the Canadian Football League.
Sweeney signed with the Bears May 13 and led the team in the preseason with nine receptions for 86 yards and two touchdowns. He was selected by the Bills in the seventh round of the 2019 draft out of Boston College and appeared in 24 games with four starts for Buffalo in 2019 and 2021-22, catching 18 passes for 165 yards and one TD. He signed with the Giants last year but was placed on the reserve/non-football injury list after collapsing during a training camp practice due to a medical event.
Randolph signed with the Bears this year as an undrafted free agent from Illinois. He compiled two tackles in preseason action.
The Bears roster currently stands at 87, meaning they must trim 34 players by 3 p.m. (CT) Tuesday to reach the NFL's mandatory 53-man limit.
