DT Garay gets lopped

Three young backups who were little-used members of last year's Super Bowl team were among 19 players the Bears cut Saturday.

They also placed two players on injured reserve to get down to the required 53-man limit.

Defensive tackle Antonio Garay played briefly in four games last season, safety Tyler Everett saw action in three, and interior offensive lineman Anthony Oakley did not play but was active for two games.

"Antonio Garay is a good football player," said Bears coach Lovie Smith, "but there are just so many you can get in, and that's what we went with."

Oakley's departure leaves the Bears with just three backups behind an aging offensive line, but that's the same number they kept last season. The only change is rookie Josh Beekman, a fourth-round pick who took Oakley's spot.

Also waived were running back Josh Allen; wide receivers David Ball and Drisan James; defensive ends Chris Frome and Copeland Bryan; defensive tackle Tory Collins; safety Andrew Shanle; cornerbacks Tim Mixon and Greg Fassitt; quarterback Chris Leak; offensive tackles Mark LeVoir and Steven Vieira (who was waived injured); tight ends Fontel Mines and Brett Pierce; guard Tyler Reed; and linebacker Danny Verdun Wheeler.

In addition, defensive end Dan Bazuin, the Bears' second-round draft choice, and fullback Quadtrine Hill were placed on injured reserve and will not play this season.

Bazuin has battled two knee injuries since he was drafted with the 62nd overall pick out of Central Michigan. He had 1 preseason sack but clearly wasn't at full speed.

"He tried to work through the knee injury, but he wasn't able to do that," Smith said. "We'll put him on the shelf for a while and hopefully he can come back as strong as ever next year."

Unheralded Mike Hass, one of the feel-good stories of training camp, beat the odds and several contenders for the sixth wide receiver spot. Although Hass spent last season on the Bears' practice squad, Smith didn't learn the proper pronunciation of his last name (rhymes with pass) until last week, but he knows it now.

"Mike made plays every day," Smith said, "and he finished up with a good last preseason game. That's the beauty about training camp. There are a couple of guys who come in and take a spot, earn a spot, and Mike was able to do that."

After Hass put an exclamation mark on his effort with an impressive 9-yard TD grad in the preseason finale, he felt confident about his chances.

"I'm pretty pleased," he said. "I've done well. I've been consistent throughout all the practices and the games, just catching the ball, running routes and doing the things they tell me to do."

Offensive coordinator Ron Turner hinted after the final preseason game Hass didn't need a spectacular TD grab at the 11th hour to make the roster.

"What we were looking for from all of our guys is consistency," Turner said. "Not just one play, not just 1 catch; we're looking for consistency throughout training camp, throughout the preseason, and Mike has shown that he's a good football player."

That's pretty much what the 6-foot-1, 206-pound winner of the Biletnikoff Award thought, too.

"If you make one catch, that's not how you make the team," Hass said after the game. "You have to be consistent and do things throughout camp and the games. I think it (was) a good catch, and hopefully it'll do something for me, I don't know."

Now he does.

Darrell McClover was also on the bubble, but he was one of a whopping eight linebackers to survive the final cut. He has already played three years in the league because of his outstanding work on special teams, and that's what accounted for his survival this year.

"You have your starters, and our guys know if they are not a starter, and even if they are a starter, that special teams will play a big part in who stays," Smith said. "We put a premium on guys that can play on the special teams, and that was the case."

This has always been a nervous time of year for McClover, a Miami product, but it's a situation he's had experience with.

"It's nothing new for me," he said. "I go out there and work hard like I've always been doing. That's how I am as a person, and that's all I'll ever be."

None of the backup linebackers will play much this season except in the case of an injury to one of the starters, so special teams is their best route to a roster spot. McClover didn't join the Bears until midseason last year but finished fourth with 18 special-teams tackles, including a team-high 16 in the final five games.

• Lovie Smith had no update on the condition of first-round rookie tight end Greg Olsen, who is expected to miss at least the regular-season opener with a sprained knee he suffered in the preseason finale.

"He still has the same knee sprain," Smith said. "He's getting treatment daily. The smile is coming back on his face, so we're optimistic. But whenever you don't finish the game, you know there is cause for concern."