6 Chicago Bears who could benefit from a good showing in preseason finale with roster cuts looming

The Chicago Bears and Tennessee Titans will conclude the NFL’s preseason slate at 5 p.m. Saturday at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn.

The Bears will have exactly 24 hours from kickoff to make their final decisions on the 53-man roster. Teams must have their rosters trimmed from 90 players to 53 by 5 p.m. Sunday.

“It’s the worst day in the National Football League,” special teams coordinator Richard Hightower said this week. “I don’t think anybody would shy away from that, and especially in an organization like ours where we truly care immensely about people. We get attached to these guys. At the end of the day, it’s still a business.”

Most teams have a pretty good idea by now of what their roster will look like. Even so, the final preseason game is a last chance to make an impression — and a good performance certainly can do that for players sitting on the edge of the roster.

“We’ve got 90 guys on the roster, a lot of which are fighting for their professional lives right now, and their stories are incredible,” coach Ben Johnson said.

Here are a few of those stories. These six players could benefit from a good last impression Saturday against the Titans (5 p.m., Fox-32).

WRs Kaden Davis and Scotty Miller

Davis has been one of the best stories of training camp. He has played well in practice, and it translated to the preseason opener when he caught four passes for 88 yards from backup quarterback Tyson Bagent. Davis saw only one target in Week 2, but more telling was the fact he was on the field with Caleb Williams and the starters.

The Bears likely have five locks to make the roster at wide receiver: Rome Odunze, Luther Burden III, Kalif Raymond, Jahdae Walker and Zavion Thomas.

For Davis and Miller, this could come down to math. Will the Bears keep five or six receivers on the initial roster? Last year, which could be a good indicator, they kept six.

Miller has more experience than Davis but hasn’t made a huge impact in the preseason games (five catches for 55 yards) and didn’t play any snaps with the starting offense in Cincinnati.

“One thing I can bring is speed and versatility and the ability to play a multitude of positions, inside and outside,” Miller said.

Maurice Alexander — perhaps a third contender who is probably more of a long shot — has racked up big numbers in the games with the second and third teams (eight catches for 102 yards and one touchdown) but hasn’t seen as much work with the starters.

Davis, fresh out of the United Football League, would be quite a story if he were to make the team. He has been cut either during training camp or at the 53-man roster deadline in four consecutive years by four franchises.

“A great acquisition that the front office made,” Hightower said of Davis. “He works his tail off, really a joy to be around. He’s like a sponge, you know? There’s a kid that’s fought on multiple (teams), obviously released or cut from multiple teams, but has fought time in and time out. I’ve got ultimate respect for Kaden Davis.”

OTs Kiran Amegadjie and Jedrick Wills Jr.

Both Amegadjie and Wills might be trending in the wrong direction in the left tackle battle. With Braxton Jones returning from a minor knee injury, he’s looking like the Week 1 starter. In last week’s preseason game against the Bengals, the Bears elected to give second-team left tackle reps to Theo Benedet rather than Amegadjie or Wills.

That makes it seem as if Benedet is poised for the swing tackle role as the first off the bench who is capable of playing either side. NFL teams typically keep nine or 10 offensive linemen on the 53-man roster. Last year the Bears kept 10.

Behind Jones, Benedet and right tackle Darnell Wright, the team might keep only one more tackle. If the Bears place Ozzy Trapilo on injured reserve — teams can place two players on IR with a designation to return, essentially giving them two extra spots — that could leave the door open for Amegadjie or Wills to make the initial roster. Trapilo, while back at practice, has yet to play any team reps.

“I don’t know that we are 100% sold on who that (starter) is going to be for Carolina yet (in Week 1),” Johnson said of his left tackle spot. “We’re going to still work through it.”

Wills looks to be the third option at left tackle, while Amegadjie played right tackle against the Bengals before moving to the left side after Jones, Benedet and Wills all had their turns.

Wills exited Thursday’s joint practice with the trainers, which also could throw a wrench into the equation.

Safety Skyler Thomas

The Bears activated veteran safety and special teams contributor Elijah Hicks off the physically unable to perform list this week. Hicks missed nearly a month of camp with a shin injury.

His activation is good news for the Bears’ depth at safety and adds a name to watch in the position battle for Coby Bryant’s starting spot. But it’s bad news for players further down the depth chart, notably undrafted rookie Skyler Thomas out of Oregon State.

Thomas has played consistently with the twos during training camp and occasionally with the ones here and there as injuries have necessitated. Last week, he had a diving interception of Bengals quarterback Sean Clifford.

A year ago, the Bears kept four safeties on the initial 53-man roster. They could be looking at Dillon Thieneman, Cam Lewis, Xavier Woods and Hicks, assuming Bryant goes on IR. Lewis and Woods shared first-team reps with Thieneman during Thursday’s joint practice, and Lewis had one of the few highlights for the secondary with an interception of Cam Ward.

If Hicks is close to healthy and ready for the active roster — all indications are he’s trending that way — it could spell trouble for Thomas. The preseason finale is a big game for Thomas, who is fighting for a roster spot but also looks like a candidate for one of 16 practice squad spots.

RB Salvon Ahmed

If the Bears keep four running backs, Ahmed could be poised to make the roster. Last year they kept only three.

As it stands, D’Andre Swift, Kyle Monangai and Roschon Johnson appear locked in as the top three. Johnson’s special teams experience likely outweighs that of the other backs on the roster. But if there are concerns about Monangai’s knee injury lingering into the season, the Bears could keep a fourth.

Ahmed has had a good camp with the second-team offense and has totaled 122 yards from scrimmage with one touchdown over two preseason games.

He doesn’t have a ton of regular-season special teams experience, which is often a requirement for running backs further down the depth chart. Ahmed played 20 special teams snaps over the first two preseason games.

“He’s been on a lot of (special teams) stuff,” Hightower said. “And he’s made some headway there and he’s done a good job improving. We take a lot of pride in helping guys that haven’t done it.”