Bears' roster down to 53 with 19 cut, 3 on injured reserve

The Bears reached the 53-man roster limit Saturday by placing running back Kevin Jones (ankle), safety Dahna Deleston (hamstring) and rookie defensive end Henry Melton (ankle) on injured reserve and cutting 19 players.

Gone are guard Dan Buenning, cornerback Rod Hood and linebacker Darrell McClover, vested veterans whose contracts were terminated.

Also released were wide receiver Brandon Rideau, guard Johan Asiata, defensive ends Ervin Baldwin and Joe Clermond, offensive tackle Cody Balogh, quarterback Brett Basanez, cornerbacks Rudy Burgess, Marcus Hamilton and Woodny Turenne, fullbacks Jason Davis and Will Ta'ufo'ou, linebackers Marcus Freeman, Kevin Malast and Mike Rivera, receiver Eric Peterman and center Donovan Raiola.

For the time being, cornerbacks Trumaine McBride and rookie D.J. Moore, safety Craig Steltz, rookie guard Lance Louis, tight end Michael Haines and safety Josh Bullocks, all of whom were considered to be on the bubble, have survived.

Cornerback Charles Tillman was moved from the physically-unable-to-perform list to the active roster.

The decision at wide receiver may have been the toughest, with veteran practice squad players Devin Aromashodu and Rideau running neck and neck through training camp and the preseason.

One of them had to be the loser in the numbers game since draft picks Juaquin Iglesias (third round) and Johnny Knox (fifth round) showed more than enough to earn roster spots.

Plus, the Bears always are partial to their most recent draft picks.

"Every year it's the same thing," said the 6-foot-3, 198-pound Rideau, who spent parts of 2006 and '08 on the Bears' practice squad, appeared in two games last season and was on the active roster for one game in 2007.

"Every year they draft a guy, so you just have to come out and stand out and hopefully you stick in their minds. I feel like I showed them I want to be here."

Rideau has been on the verge for years, but that didn't buy him any sentimental edge when the final cuts were made.

"The only thing we look at is what they do on the field," offensive coordinator Ron Turner said. "Obviously, we look at the intangibles, we look at their work ethic, we look at their intelligence, everything, because that all plays into how they're going to do on the field.

"But the bottom line is the film. The film doesn't lie. We put the film on and we look at it, and then we see how does it all fit. How do these guys complement each other? You can't have all the same type of receivers."

Ervin Baldwin, a seventh-round draft pick in 2008 who spent most of last season on the practice squad, had 2 sacks in the preseason finale Thursday.

"I just went out there and took advantage of the reps I had and tried to produce some good film," the 6-foot-2, 260-pound pass rusher said after the game.

"I just played with a lot of emotion and a lot of heart. I worked on my takeoffs like coach (Rod Marinelli) told me to do. It was all about want, and it's all about getting after it."

But it wasn't enough.

Smith said the final cuts were made without bias toward experience or potential but with just one thing in mind.

"(We want) the best player right now and who we think will help us win the Green Bay game," Smith said. "You talk about potential before we pick them. Now you put them all in together.

"We don't mind playing young players. Experience doesn't really matter. We're just looking at the best possible guy to help us win."

The Bears can establish an eight-man practice squad today with eligible players they released and those who have been waived by other NFL teams.

Basanez, Freeman (a fifth-round pick), Turenne and Balogh are logical candidates for the practice squad.