Injuries could complicate first round of roster cuts for Bears

The Chicago Bears and all 31 of their fellow NFL franchises will be making roster cuts Tuesday, in most cases at least five per team to reach the maximum number of players allowed (80) by 3 p.m. central time.

Then the unkindest cuts of all will come one week later when all 32 clubs have to be down to 53 players by 3 p.m. on Aug. 31.

Teams will then be allowed to establish 16-man practice squads that can include up to six vested veterans, but each of those players will have to clear waivers before teams can re-sign them, and those veterans will make just a little more than 25% of what they'd make on an active roster.

Veterans can be stashed on the PUP (Physically Unable to Perform) or Non-Football Injury lists without clearing waivers, but if they start the season on the PUP list, they must wait at least six weeks to be cleared to practice and rejoin the team.

This season, an unlimited number of players can also be placed on Injured Reserve and be eligible to return in just three weeks, but only if they first make the 53-man roster on Aug. 31.

The net effect of this for the Bears is the PUP list could be a good place for a player like offensive tackle Teven Jenkins, who won't be ready until at least Week 7 anyway, keeping a spot open for someone else on the final 53 at least until Jenkins is ready.

But with a player like running back Tarik Cohen, if he isn't ready on opening day you'd still rather have on I.R. because you can activate him three weeks sooner that way.

What will complicate this cut-down for the Bears is all the injuries they've had to deal with on the offensive line, making it impossible to evaluate some of their guys, and probably forcing them to keep an extra lineman or two, which will take a job away from a qualified guy at another position.

A normal 53-man NFL roster will often have two or three QBs, four running backs, six wide receivers, three or four tight ends, eight offensive linemen, five or six defensive linemen, eight linebackers, 10 defensive backs and a punter, place-kicker and long snapper.

But where things get iffy for the Bears is with the combination of ongoing competition for starting spots and additional questions about depth in the secondary, at wide receiver and edge rusher, they could be forced to release an extra player from another position group.

For example, on the offensive line, we have to assume the starters eventually will be Jason Peters, Cody Whitehair, Sam Mustipher, James Daniels and Germain Ifedi, and Alex Bars' flexibility to play every position on the line would seem to make him a sure thing.

Normally that would leave just two spots for Jenkins, Larry Borom (a lock), Elijah Wilkinson, Adam Redmond, Lachavious Simmons and Arlington Hambright, all of them getting significant reps right now.

Jenkins will start the season on some list, so if it's Borom and Wilkinson that make the team — both can play either tackle or guard — will the Bears use a ninth and even a 10th roster spot to avoid the risk of losing Redmond and both of last year's seventh rounders, Simmons and Hambright?

The Bears could go with just three tight ends — Cole Kmet, Jimmy Graham and Jesse James — but it seems more likely either J.P. Holtz or Jesper Horsted will claim a fourth spot.

Safety is truly fascinating because after starters Eddie Jackson and Tashaun Gipson, Deon Bush, DeAndre Houston-Carson, Josh Lucas, Marquis Christian and Teez Tabor all appear to have NFL chops.

At least two and quite possibly three will have to go.

This is the most difficult time of the year for NFL players, facing their mortality and the short half lives of NFL careers.

Here is a list of NFL veteran Bears that find themselves very much on the bubble and facing some legitimate odds against making the team with a week to go:

RB Ryan Nall, OL Elijah Wilkinson, RB Artavis Pierce, DL Mike Pennel, WR Riley Ridley, LB James Vaughters, WR Javon Wims, DB Artie Burns, WR Rodney Adams, DB Duke Shelley, TE J.P. Holtz, DB Josh Lucas, TE Jesper Horsted, DB Duke Shelley, OL Lachavious Simmons, DB DeAndre Houston, OL Arlington Hambright, DB Teez Tabor.

@Hub_Arkush