The Bears on Sunday traded tight end Adam Shaheen to the Miami Dolphins in exchange for a 2021 seventh-round draft pick that could become a sixth-round selection.
Selected by the Bears in the second round of the 2017 draft out of Ashland University, Shaheen appeared in 27 games with 13 starts over three seasons, catching 26 passes for 249 yards and four touchdowns.
As a rookie in 2017, Shaheen had 12 receptions for 127 yards and three touchdowns while playing in 13 games. But the 6-6, 257-pounder was plagued by injuries each of the last two seasons.
Shaheen was performing well in training camp in 2018 before he sustained foot and ankle injuries in a preseason game in Denver that forced him to miss the first nine regular-season contests. He ultimately played in just six games, catching five passes for 48 yards and one TD.
Shaheen had nine receptions for 74 yards in the first eight contests last season before being placed on injured reserve with a foot injury.
The trade of Shaheen—which came three days after fifth-year pro Ben Braunecker was released—leaves the Bears with seven tight ends: Veteran free-agent acquisitions Jimmy Graham and Demetrius Harris; rookie second-round draft pick Cole Kmet; returnees J.P. Holtz, Jesper Horsted and Eric Saubert; and undrafted rookie Darion Clark.
Of the seven, only Horsted was with the Bears before the start of last season. Two were claimed off waivers during the season—Holtz from the Raiders Sept. 11 and Saubert from the Redskins Nov. 30. The other four—Graham, Harris, Kmet and Clark—were acquired during the offseason.
Roster moves: The Bears on Sunday also released linebacker Devante Bond and waived safety Kentrell Brice and receiver Alex Wesley.
Bond signed with the Bears last Dec. 9 and played in the final three games of the season, exclusively on special teams. He was selected by the Buccaneers in the sixth round of the 2016 draft out of Oklahoma. After spending his rookie season on injured reserve, Bond appeared in 29 games with six starts in three seasons with Tampa Bay, registering 26 tackles and one tackle-for-loss.
Brice signed with the Bears Jan. 8. He spent three seasons with the Packers from 2016-18, appearing in 36 games with 14 starts and recording 100 tackles, six pass breakups, one interception, one sack, one fumble recovery and one tackle-for-loss. Brice entered the NFL with Green Bay in 2016 as an undrafted free agent from Louisiana Tech. He signed with the Buccaneers as a free agent last March but was waived by Tampa Bay as part of final cuts.
Wesley joined the Bears practice squad last December. He entered the NFL with the Giants last year as an undrafted free agent from Northern Colorado. But was waived as part of final cuts.
