Tight end-deficient Bears promote undrafted rookie Horsted from practice squad
The Bears elevated undrafted rookie tight end Jesper Horsted from the practice squad to the 53-man roster Wednesday, some potential help at one of the more disappointing positions in Matt Nagy's moribund offense.
Horsted, the 22-year-old undrafted rookie out of Princeton, was breaking school records as a wide receiver around this time last season.
"I'm a lot better in terms of technique and knowledge, but it is a new position," Horsted said Wednesday in the locker room shortly after making his first call, to his mom, to share the news. "Even though I'm a fast study, it's going to take time - more than a few months. I'm going in the right direction, but by no means am I a full-on tight end yet.
Horsted, who said he's up from 225 pounds when he signed with the team in mid-May to 240, flashed brightly in the preseason, leading the Bears with 2 receiving touchdowns - each of the leaping variety and showing off some of his natural receiving skills.
"He's got great ball skills," said fellow Bears tight end Ben Braunecker. "You saw in the preseason, his catch radius is tremendous. His hands are great. He (has) a knack for getting open, separating at the top of routes. Good wide receiver traits. And he's coming along in the run game. I think this week will be a good challenge and a big step up for him. I think he'll enjoy it."
Suffice to say, the Bears would greatly enjoy some of those preseason flashes translating Sunday at a position barren of production this season.
Horsted's 2 scores, 121 receiving yards and 15.8-yard clip in the preseason would all lead the Bears' tight end corps entering Week 12. Co-starters Trey Burton and Adam Shaheen have combined for 23 catches for 158 yards. Burton was placed on season-ending injured reserve last week in part because of the groin injury that sidelined him in the wild-card defeat vs. the Eagles last January.
Shaheen, the 45th overall pick in the 2017 draft, was a healthy scratch two weeks ago prior to being held out of practice with a sore foot - though it's not clear whether it's the same one that landed him on injured reserve for the first part of the 2018 campaign.
It's become increasingly Matt Nagy no longer has a use for one of GM Ryan Pace's bigger draft missteps.
As for Horsted, he has the size and athleticism to potentially fill the massive void left by Burton's disappointing season at the "U" position, one of the most integral in Nagy's scheme.
"It's very complicated to learn," Horsted said.
"It's a very key part of this offense. You can really be put in any role in the offense, which is amazing," he said. "It's a spot you want to be in, but it comes with good knowledge of the playbook. It's definitely been a struggle, but I feel pretty good about where I am."
To say it's been a struggle for the Bears' tight end corps to date this season would be an understatement.
Although Horsted seemingly is unlikely to offer much in the run game, the Bears need something - anything - from the TE position, and the time has arrived to start evaluating for the short and long term.
Braunecker - who did provide a boost at the position two weeks ago vs. the Lions with his first career touchdown catch - said of Horsted, "I kind of feel like he's related to me in some sense," because of their brainiac backgrounds and similar undrafted paths to the NFL. That's part of the reason he's went out of his way to help the rookie - even if there's not much advice he can offer to temper Horsted's nerves entering his first NFL game.
"To be honest, nothing really helps. You just got to go out there and do it. It gets better after the first play. Just so long as you focus on your job and take it one play at a time, it's good," he said.
Prior to Braunecker's big catch in Week 10 buoying the Bears in breaking their four-game losing skid, the sense was that no one in the tight end room really helps. Horsted couldn't be more excited for his first opportunity to change that.
"I would be nervous if I were to go out and be the ball boy for this game right now," he said. "But it's a good thing. I'm also really excited. And I feel way more confident than I did in the preseason."
If Horsted even comes to matching his preseason production, the Bears might also have a much-needed reason to feel confident about the tight end position in their offense again.
• @ArthurArkush is managing editor of Pro Football Weekly.