advertisement

LeGere: Fales likely to stay, but Bears have 22 cuts to make

The fates of more than two dozen players are twisting in the wind, possibly until 3 p.m. Saturday, if the Chicago Bears go right up to the deadline for trimming their roster to 53.

Twenty-two must go, while several others on the bubble will survive the final cut.

Both groups of players are left to ponder if they've done all they could to keep their NFL dreams alive. Some, like quarterback David Fales, couldn't have done much more. Others, like ersatz starting right tackle Jordan Mills, not so much. Still others, like veteran Willie Young, seem secure but might not be.

"I'm pretty happy," Fales said after completing 14 of 18 passes for 131 yards, 2 touchdowns, no interceptions, no sacks and a 134.0 passer rating. "There were a couple things I wish I would have seen a little (better), but I was definitely happy."

If the Bears keep three quarterbacks - and they have no choice if Jimmy Clausen is slow to recover from his second documented concussion in just over eight months - Fales seems to be a lock.

Zac Dysert was claimed off waivers Tuesday because he spent two years in Denver with offensive coordinator Adam Gase, but he's nowhere near ready to lead the offense considering he's not even on first-name basis with his receivers yet.

Both quarterbacks are eligible for the practice squad, but the Bears probably don't want to risk losing Fales to another team after he performed so well without the benefit of practicing in training camp, when he was out with an illness.

So now what?

"It's out of my control, so they'll let me know when they know," said the 24-year-old Fales, who spent most of last season on the Bears' practice squad after they drafted him in the sixth round out of San Jose State. "But there's nothing I can do."

Mills did his best throughout training camp and the preseason, but it often wasn't good enough. He was benched in favor of last year's seventh-round draft pick Charles Leno during the preseason. But Leno proved he wasn't nearly ready to take the job, so the Bears are back to hoping they - and quarterback Jay Cutler - can live with Mills in the starting lineup.

Mills was benched twice last year when a foot injury contributed to his deficient play. He says the injury is no longer an issue, but he also denies that he was fighting for a job Thursday night.

"I'm not worried about that right now," he said, although he should be. "All I'm worried about is this win we got (Thursday) night. It was just a regular game to me. If they told me to play the whole game, I'd have played the whole game, no matter what."

There has been speculation that the Bears will part ways with Young because he's not 100 percent recovered from December's torn Achilles and because he's somewhat miscast as an outside linebacker. He led the team with 10 sacks in 2014 as a defensive end, and he had 1 sack Thursday night at his position.

In Young's opinion, he's made excellent progress, especially considering that complete recovery from a torn Achilles tendon can take up to a full year.

"I went from ground zero to back up and playing again," Young said. "So it just depends on however you want to grade me."

Even if Young's grade is "incomplete," he seems a more productive player than challengers like David Bass; maybe not right now, but very soon.

Coach John Fox didn't sound late Thursday night as if he were considering cutting Young.

"There's probably more crossover there than people think," Fox said of the DE-to-OLB transition. "He's an explosive guy from what we saw on tape last year. I've been pleased with what we've seen."

• Follow Bob's Bears and NFL reports on Twitter at @BobLeGere.

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.