Three up, three down in Bears final preseason game

There were 37 inactives listed pre-game for the Bears in their final preseason game of the exhibition season against the Buffalo Bills.

Many of the players who did not suit up likely already have roster spots locked up. But for a handful of players who entered the game on the roster bubble, Thursday night's contest might have been their final opportunity to impress head coach Matt Nagy and his staff.

Here are three players who helped their causes in the 28-27 loss to the Bills - and three more who did not:

Three up

1. Running back Ryan Nall - Everyone's favorite undrafted running back did a little of everything Thursday night. Was it enough to win a job with the Bears?

His 32-yard touchdown late in the second quarter showed off Nall's impressive speed for the big back as he hit the corner and wasn't going to be denied.

Earlier he bounced back and forth between tailback and fullback, showing what kind of positional versatility he brings. He also was targeted as the first option on a third-and-goal reception.

But it's Nall's splash plays that can't be ignored - a nice draw for 24 yards, along with a 17-yarder on which he broke two Bills players' tackle attempts. You get the idea after a few of these bursts that it will be difficult for Nall not to land on another team's roster. Is that enough for Matt Nagy to keep him?

Nagy used a fullback almost 20 percent of the time with the Chiefs last year, and though Nall is nothing like the lead blocker they had there (Anthony Sherman) he might be able to provide enough at two spots, along with special teams, to force the Bears to keep him initially.

2. Cornerback Doran Grant - The fourth-round pick of the Steelers from 2015 has been well-traveled (the Bears are his fifth NFL team) for a player with three regular-season games to his name. Grant might be firmly on the outside looking in to make the initial 53-man roster, and his practice-squad eligibility is exhausted after spending last season on the Bears' taxi squad.

But he made a good impression by jumping a pass by the Bills' A.J. McCarron and running it back 33 yards for a score. Grant also tackled well prior to that, including the play prior when he brought down 250-pound tight end Logan Thomas in the open field. Later, Grant broke up a nice pass on the Bills' third drive to end a drive.

Earlier Grant was flagged for a 26-yard pass-interference call with an arm bar against Bills receiver Zay Jones but otherwise had a good night for a player who might be running out of options.

3. Tight ends Ben Braunecker and Daniel Brown - If the Bears must open the season with five tight ends on the roster because of injuries there, they have to feel better about what Braunecker and Brown showed them Thursday.

Braunecker made a nice off-balance catch on the Bears' first drive and made a good block on Nall's second-longest run.

Brown was even better as a receiver, making a heck of a catch on Tyler Bray's 19-yard pass inside the Bills' 10-yard line. In the second half, Bray dropped a dime to Brown for 27 yards against man coverage. (Brown left the game in the third quarter with a shoulder injury.)

Their chances to make the roster appear stronger given the injuries to Adam Shaheen and Dion Sims, who is going through concussion protocol, assuming Brown's shoulder injury isn't serious.

Three down

1. Safety Deiondre' Hall - He's already suspended for Week 1 and didn't put in a strong effort against the Bills overall. Is there a chance the Bears move on?

We shall see, but save for one play it was a largely forgettable effort from Hall, who has much to prove and the Bears likely having only three core safeties currently on the roster for Week 1.

Hall whiffed on a tackle on the third play from scrimmage, taking a poor angle to the ball; he was bailed out when a penalty wiped out the Bills' first-down gain. Later, he was flagged for a hold on a punt that left the Bears starting from their own 7.

Was it an egregiously bad game for Hall? No, but he had to know he was under the microscope on Thursday, and the only time his urgency showed was in chasing down the Bills' Travaris Cadet after a long gain.

Even if Hall makes the roster, the Bears are likely needing to add a safety from some other team's roster prior to Green Bay.

2. Linebacker Kasim Edebali - He was on his way toward landing on the "Three Up" list before suffering a second-half injury that required him to be taken off on a cart. We didn't know the severity at presstime, but it didn't look good.

Too bad. Edebali's tipped pass in the first half was picked off by John Timu, and he made a few plays in the run game, too.

There was a path for Edebali to be on the initial 53-man roster given the injuries to Leonard Floyd and Aaron Lynch, but now this complicates things depending on how bad the injury is.

So far, the other backup outside rushers have not impressed thoroughly.

3. Running back Taquan Mizzell - His stats were perhaps a little misleading, rushing for 23 yards on 9 carries, as Mizzell ran hard and broke a few tackles. He also caught 2 passes for 24 yards and was open on a pass Bray overthrew him.

But Mizzell left some meat on the bone on a 13-yard screen pass that should have gone for longer, and he just lacks that extra burst and creativity as a runner. Nall might offer the Bears just a shade more.

• Eric Edholm is a senior editor for Pro Football Weekly. For more on the NFL, visit profootballweekly.com and follow Eric on Twitter @Eric_Edholm or @PFWeekly.