The Bears reached the NFL's mandatory 53-man limit Saturday by waiving 18 players and terminating the contracts of quarterback Tyler Bray and kicker Cairo Santos.
Four players who were waived appeared in regular season games for the Bears last year: Tight end Jesper Horsted, defensive tackle Abdullah Anderson, cornerback Kevin Toliver and outside linebacker Isaiah Irving, who was waived/injured.
Two of the players waived were selected by the Bears in the draft: 2019 seventh-round cornerback Stephen Denmark and 2020 seventh-round offensive lineman Lachavious Simmons.
Seven players who were waived signed with the Bears this year as undrafted rookies: Running back Artavis Pierce, offensive linemen Dieter Eiselen and Badara Traore, defensive tackle Trevon McSwain, defensive end LaCale London, and linebackers Rashad Smith and Ledarius Mack, the younger brother of Bears Pro Bowl pass rusher Khalil Mack.
Five players who were waived with NFL experience included receivers Rodney Adams (2 years), Thomas Ives (1) and Reggie Davis (3); offensive lineman Sam Mustipher (1) and safety Xavier Crawford (1).
Safety Marqui Christian is suspended for the first two games of the season, so he does not count toward the 53-man roster.
On Sunday, the Bears can establish a 16-man practice squad, with six of those players having unlimited NFL experience. The new Collective Bargaining Agreement that was reached in March would have allowed teams a 12-man practice squad with two players having unlimited experience in 2020. But those numbers were increased due to COVID-19.
NFL clubs typically stock their practice squads with players they waived during final cuts, so several of the players trimmed from the Bears roster Saturday could be re-signed to the practice squad Sunday.
The Bears kept only two quarterbacks on their 53-man roster in Mitchell Trubisky and Nick Foles, and four running backs in Tarik Cohen, David Montgomery, Ryan Nall and converted receiver Cordarrelle Patterson.
They kept six receivers in Allen Robinson II, Anthony Miller, Ted Ginn Jr., Riley Ridley, Javon Wims and rookie fifth-round pick Darnell Mooney.
Five tight ends made the 53-man roster: Jimmy Graham, rookie second-round pick Cole Kmet, Demetrius Harris, J.P. Holtz and Eric Saubert. None of the five opened last season with the Bears.
The Bears kept nine offensive linemen. Their starting unit is comprised of left tackle Charles Leno Jr., left guard James Daniels, center Cody Whitehair, right guard German Ifedi and right tackle Bobby Massie. The four reserves are Alex Bars, Rashaad Coward, Jason Spriggs and rookie seventh-round pick Arlington Hambright.
Five defensive linemen earned roster spots in tackles Akiem Hicks, Bilal Nichols and John Jenkins, and ends Roy Robertson-Harris and Brent Urban.
Outside linebackers are Khalil Mack, Robert Quinn, Barkevious Mingo, James Vaughters and rookie fifth-round pick Trevis Gipson.
Inside linebackers include Danny Trevathan, Roquan Smith, Joel Iyiegbuniwe and Josh Woods.
The Bears kept 11 defensive backs: cornerbacks Kyle Fuller, rookie second-round pick Jaylon Johnson and rookie fifth-round choice Kindle Vildor, Buster Skrine, and Duke Shelley; and safeties Eddie Jackson, Deon Bush, Tashaun Gipson, DeAndre Houston-Carson, Sherrick McManis and Marqui Christian.
Despite being hampered by a groin injury in training camp, Eddy Piñeiro was the only kicker to earn a spot on the 53-man roster. Coach Matt Nagy said recently, however, that the Bears intended to keep two kickers around, even if they meant one of them was on the practice squad.
The Bears kept six of their seven 2020 draft picks in Kmet, Johnson, Trevis Gipson, Vildor, Mooney and Hambright. The only exception was Simmons.
No undrafted rookies made the final roster.
Of the 53 players, 49 have been acquired since Ryan Pace became Bears general manager in 2015. The exceptions are Fuller, Leno, McManis and punter Pat O'Donnell.
Here's a breakdown of the 53-man roster as it stands now (in alphabetical order):
Quarterbacks (2): Nick Foles, Mitchell Trubisky.
Running backs (4): Tarik Cohen, David Montgomery, Ryan Nall, Cordarrelle Patterson.
Receivers (6): Ted Ginn Jr., Anthony Miller, Darnell Mooney, Riley Ridley, Allen Robinson II, Javon Wims.
Tight ends (5): Jimmy Graham, Demetrius Harris, J.P. Holtz, Cole Kmet, Eric Saubert.
Offensive linemen (9): Alex Bars, Rashaad Coward, James Daniels, Arlington Hambright, Germain Ifedi, Charles Leno Jr., Bobby Massie, Jason Spriggs, Cody Whitehair.
Defensive linemen (5): Roy Robertson-Harris, Akiem Hicks, John Jenkins, Bilal Nichols, Brent Urban.
Inside linebackers (4): Joel Iyiegbuniwe, Roquan Smith, Danny Trevathan, Josh Woods.
Outside linebackers (5): Trevis Gipson, Khalil Mack, Barkevious Mingo, Robert Quinn, James Vaughters.
Cornerbacks (5): Kyle Fuller, Jaylon Johnson, Duke Shelley, Buster Skrine, Kindle Vildor.
Safeties (5): Deon Bush, DeAndre Houston-Carson, Tashaun Gipson, Eddie Jackson, Sherrick McManis.
Specialists (3): Pat O'Donnell, Eddy Piñeiro, Patrick Scales.
