For so many Bears players, final exhibition an important one

There was a low buzz and slight tension starting to build Thursday around Halas Hall, something you might notice only if you've been around NFL training camps for years.

It's a vibe that comes with the reality that at 3 p.m. Chicago time next Tuesday, 864 NFL players will be out of work and for Bears, Saturday night in Nashville may be their last chance to earn or save a job.

The last exhibition game always has been pretty much a throwaway and even a bit of an annoyance to most fans because so few regulars participate, and it tells us so little about a team.

But for close to a thousand or so players, those 864 who will be cut shortly after and the last four or five to make each NFL club it is the most important moment of their young lives.

Asked if he has gained a heightened awareness of the impact Saturday night's game against the Titans has on his locker room, head coach Matt Nagy said, "Yeah, I have, and that's real too, what's the number of players that are about to have that unfortunate handshake and not know what their future is?

"So we always talk to our starters when guys don't play and are on the sidelines, 'Let's look sharp, let's be supportive, be coaches out there for them, these are some of the biggest job interviews that these guys will ever have in their entire life, so let's respect that.' Coaches, let's understand that as well.

"That's really big to me, it's big to our coaches, it's big to (GM) Ryan Pace, and we take it very seriously."

It isn't just about sympathizing with the guys who don't make it.

Where might the Bears have been in recent years without Cam Meredith, Bryce Callahan, Roy Robertson-Harris, Sam Mustipher and Alex Bars to name a few? Or going back in history Brian Piccolo, James Allen, Mike Tomczak, Tom Waddle, Dennis McKinnon, Leslie Frazier, "Big Cat" Williams, Jay Hilgenberg, etc.?

All guys who went into their final exhibition as rookies not close to having jobs locked if the team hadn't gotten it right.

It's a right of passage that fans and media take for granted but one that both youngsters and veterans with no idea how close to the top of the bubble they are actually perched, live in perpetual fear of.

I asked Nagy if heading to Nashville there is a position or two where the competition is so close even he's not sure what will happen?

"I'd say there's a few," he said. "Without getting into too many details just with other opponents, we have a couple positions right now that we're looking at that we're keeping an eye on.

"I always look forward to this one because sometimes you get that one player that maybe there might be, from coaches, a little doubt in. And then all of a sudden they prove you wrong in this game.

"I know we have a lot of talk about Justin (Fields) and the quarterback position, but there are other guys that are fighting for depth and fighting to make this roster. This is a really huge game."

We'll be focused on tackles, wideouts, edge rushers and corners in our game preview.

There will be happy endings, too.

With increased practice squads and a full extra week between the final exhibition and regular-season opener, a number of guys whose dreams are dashed by 3 p.m. Tuesday will find new ones shortly thereafter.

There will be some surprising vets and talented youngsters suddenly on the street.

Are the Bears ready for this season's final wave of free agency?

"They're (Pace's staff) all over that," Nagy said. "They're in here all day and night going through possible roster cuts of other teams.

"So for us as a coaching staff, we're more focused on evaluating the players in the game, and then they come to us."

All that's certain is for the 80 guys in that Bears locker room right now, 53 will have their dreams continue, some will have theirs die an early death, some will have new ones begin.

Much of that will depend on what happens during those 60 minutes Saturday night in Nashville.

@Hub_Arkush