Bears 53 man roster set: QBs Brett Rypien and Austin Reed cut, keep RB Velus Jones
Velus Jones, running back, made the Bears’ initial 53-man roster Tuesday.
Two of the other stars of “Hard Knocks” did not.
The Bears cut their quarterback room in half, releasing veteran Brett Rypien and waiving undrafted rookie Austin Reed before the NFL’s transaction deadline. Both had strong preseason performances — Rypien had a 131.4 passer rating in exhibition games, Reed a 117.4 — but the Bears were comfortable, at least for now, keeping just starter Caleb Williams and backup Tyson Bagent.
NFL tradition typically calls for a veteran mentor, but the Bears believe they already have that person inside Halas Hall. Ryan Griffin, who was a quarterback for the Buccaneers as recently as 2022 and has a Super Bowl on his resume, is an offensive assistant.
The team could turn to Rypien to rejoin the practice squad Wednesday. Rypien doesn't have to clear waivers Wednesday at 11 a.m., but Reed does. Getting either of them to the 53-man roster by game day would allow them to serve as the team’s “emergency” quarterback.
Both Rypien and Reed became main characters in the Bears' "Hard Knocks" documentary series, with the latter wowing his teammates by singing an R&B song during a team-wide meeting. Jones became a hit when told the origin story of “Crash,” his late ferret.
The Bears moved Jones wide from receiver to running back three weeks ago, trying to salvage an underwhelming career by the former third-round pick. Jones played late into the fourth quarter of the final preseason game Thursday — not a good sign for his future — but ran 13 times for 111 yards and a touchdown. The team technically listed him as a receiver Tuesday, but he’s a running back — he’s done individual drills with that position group for three weeks.
Bears general manager Ryan Poles, who made trades on Friday and Saturday to solidify his defensive line depth, didn’t make a splash before the deadline. Social media wanted him to — when a fan implored Poles to trade for Cowboys star Micah Parsons on X on Monday, Williams hit the “like” button, but soon rescinded it.
Instead, Poles tinkered on the margins. Long snapper Patrick Scales made the roster but is expected to be put on injured reserve Wednesday, a source said. He has a back problem and could return by the end of October. Fullback Khari Blasingame could take his roster spot after being cut Tuesday, a source confirmed. The team will have to find room to fit in its next snapper.
The Bears waived receiver Dante Pettis with an injury designation, ending his season, and put tackle Larry Borom and defensive lineman Jacob Martin on Injured Reserve. They can return after four weeks.
Veterans the Bears released were: TE Stephen Carlson, S Adrian Colbert, T Aviante Collins, DL Byron Cowart, WR Collin Johnson, S Tarvarius Moore and CB Greg Stroman Jr.
They waived LB Micah Baskerville, TE Brenden Bates, OL Theo Benedet, OL Jake Curhan, LB Carl Jones Jr.. DB Leon Jones, DL Jamree Kromah, LS Cameron Lyons, DL Dashaun Mallory, LB Paul Moala, CB Reddy Steward, DB Ro Torrence and P Corliss Waitman.
The Bears can start building a 16-player practice squad Wednesday, likely with many of the above players.
Jason Lieser contributed.