53-Man Roster, Premature Speculation

WCL said:

In the Signed UDFA thread, someone asked if anyone had gone over the roster and speculated about the final 53. Ra’s al Ghul said, “Not yet, but expect multiple threads about it.” I figured I’d kick things off.

This is obviously really premature. Some free agents will be brought in, and some people will unexpectedly emerge in camp. But it shows where some of the camp battles might happen. Plus, it’s the offseason and everything is speculation at this point.

Last year, they went into the season with a split of 24 Offense, 25 Defense and 4 Special Teams. I took Hester’s spot and gave it to the defensive line. Emery has said that they should have gone into last season with one more lineman (and reiterated that this weekend when he said that in today’s NFL, you need 10), so I moved that from 9 to 10.

They also went into last season with 9 offensive linemen. The emergence of Boggs made them keep an extra. With de la Puente on the roster, they should be able to drop back to 8. I gave that extra spot to QB, so they can keep Fales.


Quarterbacks (3)
Jay Cutler
Jordan Palmer
David Fales

Cuts: Jerrod Johnson
Notes: Palmer worked with Fales pre-draft and is a good teacher, so I think he sticks as a mentor for Fales and a vet backup. I don’t know that they would trust Fales at the number 2 spot, but they might not want to risk putting him through waivers and putting him on the practice squad.


Running Backs (4)
Matt Forté
Ka'Deem Carey
Michael Ford
Tony Fiammetta (FB)

Cuts: Willie Carter, Shaun Draughn, Jordan Lynch


Wide Receivers (6)
Brandon Marshall
Alshon Jeffery
Marquess Wilson
Chris Williams
Eric Weems
Josh Morgan

Cuts: Josh Bellamy, Terrence Toliver


Tight Ends (3)
Martellus Bennett
Dante Rosario
Fendi Onobun or Zach Miller

Cuts: Matthew Mulligan


Offensive Linemen (8)
Jermon Bushrod (T)
Matt Slauson (G)
Roberto Garza (C)
Kyle Long (G)
Jordan Mills (T)
Eben Britton (G/T)
Brian de la Puente (C)
Charles Leno, Jr. (G/T) or James Brown (G/T)

Cuts: Taylor Boggs, Cody Booth, James Dunbar, Rogers Gaines, Ryan Groy, Joe Long


Defensive Linemen (10)
Jared Allen (DE)
David Bass (DE)
Willie Young (DE)
Lamarr Houston (DE/DT)
Cornelius Washington (DE/DT) or Israel Idonije (DE/DT)
Stephen Paea (NT)
Ego Ferguson (NT)
Jeremiah Ratliff (NT/DT)
Will Sutton (DT)
Nate Collins (DT)

Cuts: Brandon Dunn, Austen Lane, Lee Pegues, Tracy Robertson, Trevor Scott
Notes: I think the ends split easily into two groups. The guys listed as “DE” are the ones I would expect to line up at RDE in the base package and play either DE spot in the nickel. The guys listed as “DE/DT” are the ones who can two-gap from the end position and move inside. I’d expect to see them at LDE in the base and at DT in the nickel.


Linebackers (6)
Lance Briggs
Jon Bostic
Shea McClellin
D. J. Williams
Khaseem Greene
Christian Jones or Jordan Senn

Cuts: Jerry Franklin, Devekeyan Lattimore, Tana Patrick, Lawrence Wilson
Notes: If Christian Jones proves that he can play special teams, I think he gets the nod over Senn based on potential. I didn’t bother with Will/Mike/Sam designations because most of these guys can play multiple spots, anyway.


Defensive Backs (10)
Charles Tillman (CB)
Tim Jennings (CB)
Kyle Fuller (CB)
Isaiah Frey (CB)
Kelvin Hayden (CB)
Sherrick McManis (CB) or C.J. Wilson (CB)
Ryan Mundy (S)
Chris Conte (S)
Brock Vereen (S)
Craig Steltz (S)

Cuts: Sean Cattouse, Demontre Hurst, M. D. Jennings, Derrick Martin, Danny McCray, Derricus Purdy
Notes: I went with the same 6/4 split they used last season. I refuse to cut Craig Steltz. That's my homie.


Special teams (3)
Robbie Gould K
Pat O'Donnell P
Brandon Hartson (LS) or Chad Rempel (LS)

Cuts: Drew Butler, Tress Way
Notes: I have complete faith that Mannelly will come back, but he’s not currently on the roster, so I couldn’t include him.

Click to expand...