Chicago Bears use 53-man roster spot on injured 4th-string TE

The Chicago Bears made a few surprising decisions with the 53-man roster, releasing or waiving defensive end Marcus Davenport, linebackers Ruben Hyppolite II and Jack Sanborn, defensive lineman James Lynch, and cornerback Terell Smith.

Sure, the Bears had to make some tough decisions, and not all of those players could make the initial 53-man roster.

But probably the oddest decision here was choosing undrafted rookie free agent Hayden Large to make the initial 53-man roster despite having an injury, over another player who could add depth for the defense.

“Undrafted rookie TE Hayden Large is on the Bears’ 53-man roster, the 4th at the position,” Biggs posted on X. “Would not be surprising if he’s moved to injured reserve Monday. He was injured in Tuesday’s practice – believe it’s a core injury – and one source said he could miss some time.”

Was Large in jeopardy of being picked by another team? Probably not.

Given the issues the Bears are expected to have at left tackle, the team is making sure another blocking tight end can be available at some point this season.

More News: Bears HC sends Zavion Thomas warning after breakout game

Chicago Bears keep tight end Hayden Large

More News: Bears actively trying to shop pass-rusher: Report

During OTAs, Bears head coach Ben Johnson said Large was a player the team had eyes on before the draft. Large was intimidated by the Bears selecting tight end Sam Roush in the third round, set to be TE3 behind Cole Kmet and Colston Loveland.

“He was one of the guys we identified well before the draft,” Johnson said, via USA Today. “He’s a player that we really liked. A quick story about him – we do a great job trying to recruit some of these guys that we think might fall through the cracks and go undrafted.

“So I actually called him before the draft and let him know that we had a vision for him. And when you take a tight end in the third round, you’re kind of like, ‘Oh, shoot, that might take us away from Hayden coming here.’ And yet he didn’t bat an eye. This is where he wanted to be.”

The Bears are rewarding his courage by making the former Iowa tight end a part of the team to start the season. Large recorded no receiving stats in the preseason, but he did make some key blocks in the running game.

For More Chicago Sports:

Follow me on Twitter at @JordanSig, and follow us @ChiCitySports23. You can also reach out to Jordan Sigler via email at jordanmsigler@gmail.com. To read more of our articles and keep up to date on the latest in ALL of Chicago sports, click here! Chicago Bears, Chicago Bulls, Chicago Cubs, For more on the NCAA, head to Newsweek Sports.Chicago White Sox, Chicago Blackhawks

The post Chicago Bears use 53-man roster spot on injured 4th-string TE appeared first on ChiCitySports.