Sometimes, when your roster is finally in a place where it has talent depth, the team must start accepting that you can’t keep everybody you like. Good teams always go through that experience this time of year. They know at least one or two guts they have to cut may end up elsewhere. That happened to the Chicago Bears on Wednesday. The news came in that the waiver wire claims had gone through. Every player the team had released made it through except one. Tight end Brenden Bates had been snatched by the New York Jets.
This is a sad turn of events. Bates signed with Chicago as an undrafted free agent out of Kentucky. He went on to have a great preseason, catching four passes for 86 yards and making four special teams tackles. Under normal conditions, he would’ve made the roster. However, the Bears already had Cole Kmet, Gerald Everett, and Marcedes Lewis in place. They weren’t willing to carry four tight ends. No doubt they hoped to sneak Bates onto the practice squad. New York spoiled that. Aaron Rodgers keeps finding ways to haunt them.
Good teams occasionally lose promising players this way. The fact that Bates got claimed is a surefire sign the Bears are headed in the right direction. It will be interesting to see where things go for him in New York. Given their lack of depth at tight end, he could get opportunities sooner. If nothing else, this is further proof that GM Ryan Poles remains pretty good at uncovering talent on the undrafted market. Bates wasn’t the only one who had a standout preseason this past month.
Cornerback Reddy Steward was excellent, nabbing two interceptions and two tackles for a loss. Linebacker Carl Jones Jr. was among the team leaders in tackles. Running back Ian Wheeler scored three touchdowns. Steward made it onto the practice squad. Jones may soon follow. Wheeler sadly tore his ACL. Bates would’ve been a great developmental project for the Chicago Bears, especially with Everett and Lewis on the older side. Expect them to now bring back Tommy Sweeney, who also had a solid preseason.
