Hub: Who will be on the Bears' final roster?
It's time for our annual round of 53 pickup, trying to project the Bears' final 53-man roster from the 80 players currently battling for those jobs.
'The rules of the game are very different this season, however, due to special exceptions negotiated between the league and the NFL Players Association in light of the current public health crisis.
While teams still have to name a 53-man roster, practice squads have been expanded from 10 to 16 players, and the six additional players can be veterans who might otherwise not have been eligible.
Teams will also be able to protect four players on the practice squad from being poached by another team each Tuesday of the regular season.
So in essence clubs can be guaranteed of keeping up to 57 players this year rather than 53, and the four on the practice squad in any week could be dictated by injuries and the coming opponent's strengths or weaknesses.
Let's see how those rules are likely to work out for the Bears.
Quarterback: Clearly this will be Mitch Trubisky and Nick Foles with Tyler Bray landing on the practice squad.
The starter is a different question. Trubisky appeared to be in the lead until a few days ago, but a rough week of practice and slight improvements from an early-struggling Foles appear to make that a dead heat heading into this final week of camp.
Running back: David Montgomery, Tarik Cohen and Cordarrelle Patterson are locks, and Ryan Nall and Artavis Pierce should make the 53 as well due to the groin injury that is almost certain to shelve Montgomery for at least the opener in Detroit.
Once Montgomery is ready, either Nall or Pierce or both will go to the practice squad, and my guess is it will be Nall first.
Wide receiver: Allen Robinson, Anthony Miller, Ted Ginn Jr., Riley Ridley and Javon Wims will survive the final cut, with Darnell Mooney grabbing the sixth wideout spot but unlikely to get a jersey on Sundays for a while.
Once Montgomery is healthy, expect Pierce, Nall, Mooney and Jesper Horsted to compete for one spot on the 53 each week.
Tight end: Jimmy Graham, Demetrius Harris, Cole Kmet and J.P. Holtz should start the season on the 53-man roster with both Jesper Horsted and Eric Saubert going to the practice squad.
That Graham is really a pure U or move tight end and Holtz the better special teams guy will block Horsted for now.
Offensive line: The starters of course will be Charles Leno, James Daniels, Cody Whitehair, Germain Ifedi and Bobby Massey. The backups are a puzzle, though, because of the extra practice squad spots and the injury that has kept Jason Spriggs out of practice throughout camp. Spriggs is a lock when healthy as the swing tackle and maybe even eventual competition for Leno. Because both can play guard and Rashaad Coward is the backup right tackle right now and Alex Bars next up at left tackle after Spriggs expect them on the final 53 as well.
Defensive line: Akiem Hicks, Bilal Nichols and Roy Robertson-Harris will be the starters and John Jenkins the principal backups with Abdullah Anderson claiming a spot on the practice squad.
Even with the opt out of Eddie Goldman this group feels etched in stone.
Linebackers: Khalil Mack, Danny Trevathan, Roquan Smith, Robert Quinn, and Barkevious Mingo are obviously sure things and Isaiah Irving, Josh Woods and Joel Iyiebugniwe feel that way too, but my gut tells me Iggy starts out on the practice squad. Expect Trevis Gipson and James Vaughters to claim spots too.
Safety: This would have been really tough had Jordan Lucas not opted out, but now it is sure that Eddie Jackson, Tashaun Gipson, Deon Bush and Deandre Houston-Carson on the 53, while Marquis Christian will be suspended for the first two games.
Cornerback: The toughest position on the roster to call right now is certain to include Kyle Fuller, Jaylon Johnson, Buster Skrine, Kevin Tolliver and Sherrick McManis.
Expect Kindle Vildor and Michael Joseph on the final 53 as well with Duke Shelley starting out on the practice squad.
With the starting spot across from Fuller still not a sure thing until Johnson locks it down depth here will be essential.
Specialists: Matt Nagy has said definitively he is keeping two kickers but remember they can protect a veteran on the practice squad. Pat O'Donnell, Patrick Scales, Eddy Pineiro and Cairo Santos will round out the 53 with either Pineiro or Santos on the practice squad depending on Pineiro's health.