Hub Arkush: Two Bears stand out in preseason finale loss to Titans
On a beautiful late summer evening on the lakefront in a half-full Soldier Field, the Chicago Bears finally brought down the curtain Thursday on an exhibition season that at times felt like it might drag on forever.
At stake in the 19-15 loss to the Tennessee Titans, most likely, was no more than the last five or six spots on the Bears' 53-man roster and 10 invitations to the practice squad for the last 10 guys who will be cut, and while we watched in the hopes that those 15 or 16 young men would each clearly make their claims, it wasn't meant to be.
Only two players stood out head and shoulders above the rest.
With a wide receiver room that is already badly overcrowded at Halas Hall, undrafted rookie free agent Thomas Ives compiled the kind of tape that could get him claimed by another NFL team after he is cut by the Bears, which would obligate them to put him on their 53-man roster, or minimally earn him a spot on the Bears' J.V.
Ives, out of Colgate, was targeted seven times in the first half, catching 4 passes for 87 yards, a 21.8 average. The three misses were all on quarterback Tyler Bray.
At 6-4, 218 pounds, Ives made himself an interesting developmental prospect from the day he arrived at rookie minicamp. While there is just no room on the Bears' roster for a developmental receiver, it seems certain now the team will do what it can to keep him around for as long as possible.
Even more impressive was converted tight end Jesper Horsted out of Princeton, who followed his circus catch for a touchdown last Saturday night in the fourth quarter in Indianapolis with 5 catches for 82 yards, one of which was even more impressive than the Indy grab and his second TD in two games.
Horsted was a wide receiver in college and set the school career records for catches (196) and touchdowns (28) while also starring for the Princeton baseball team and compiling an impressive academic resume.
At 6-3, 237, Horsted is a Trey Burton clone, which, while a good thing, is not really the position the Bears are trying to fill as they need another solid Y tight end more than another U.
Further complicating the tight end depth chart for the Bears, rookie Dax Raymond left the game for the evening early with a concussion after catching his first two passes of the preseason; Bradley Sowell got as many reps at the position as anyone but completed the preseason without being targeted; and Ian Bunting, who appeared to be the leader in the clubhouse for the fourth tight end spot just a week or two, ago caught just 1 pass for 1 yard but notched his third holding penalty in four games.
While Adam Shaheen, Burton and Ben Braunecker will certainly be the first three, the Bears' tight end position is possibly even cloudier than it was when the summer began.
Coach Matt Nagy talked at the beginning of last week about inside linebacker being one of the most competitive positions in camp, and based on their inactivity vs. the Titans we can at least assume that Nick Kwiatkoski and Kevin Pierre-Louis have secured roster spots.
That would mean at most one of Joel Iyiegbuniwe, Josh Woods and Jameer Thurman will make the team, and it's quite possible all three could be gone.
On the outside, it was curious that Aaron Lynch played into the second quarter while Isaiah Irving got the night off, but we can assume it was just to get Lynch some reps after he missed over two full weeks of practice.
More interesting is it leaves the three inside guys I just mentioned and Kylie Fitts, James Vaughters (who added another sack vs. the Titans) Chuck Harris and Matt Betts possibly all on their way out of town - or at most all fighting for one roster spot.
Lastly there was Eddy Pineiro making it interesting one more time by missing his first kick of the night on an extra point attempt but then looking strong and perfect on 32-, 39- and 35-yard field goals.
Who can wait to see how the Bears brass feels about that?
• For more from Hub Arkush, visit profootballweekly.com.