The Bears Begin Final Cuts

The Bears need to trim the roster by five more players before 5pm today.

LAKE FOREST- Not only did the Bears 18-16 loss to Cleveland on Thursday night signal the end of the preseason, it also signaled the NFL”s Day of Reckoning, cut down day. The Bears have already cut 17 players, they need to trim five more before by 5pm. They are currently at 58 players on the roster. Before the first round of cuts were even announced, offensive tackle J’Marcus Webb took to Twitter to announce what many considered his long-awaited departure.

I am one of the many that supports the Bears’ decision to cut Webb. He just has not panned out to what Bears management hoped he would be. During the offensive lines decline over the previous couple of seasons, Webb’s name was constantly mentioned as one of the men who failed to protect Jay Cutler on a weekly basis.

2013 was no different…. Despite looking good during the offseason program, Webb fell back into old habits once the pads came on. He had trouble keeping his own defensive teammates away from both Cutler and Josh McCown. Thank God that your not allowed to hit quarterbacks in practice. In the preseason opener against Carolina, Webb allowed Cutler to get sacked and made numerous mental errors.

When the Bears got back to practice after that game, Webb was demoted to the second team. Against San Diego and Oakland, his decline continued. Missed blocks, penalties and making the wrong reads proved only one thing…. Webb has not improved and doesn’t look like he will any time soon. Webb was eventually forced to take a pay cut and by then, the writing seemed to be on the wall.

It was also revealed midday Friday by WSCR-AM {also before the official announcement} that quarterbacks Trent Edwards and Jordan Palmer will be announced as part of the final cut downs. I was disappointed as I was hoping that the Bears would keep three QBs this year. Edwards and Palmer did a solid job carrying the Bears offense against Cleveland.

They combined for 21-of-34 passing for 222 yards. Palmer threw a touchdown pass to wide receiver Joe Anderson in the second quarter. Edwards led the Bears downfield on their final possession which put Robbie Gould in position to kick the 57-yard field goal that he missed with 1:06 remaining in the game.

Unless either of these men get picked up by another team, expect the Bears to keep them in mind in case an injury arises. Of course there is also the chance that the Bears could sign Matt Blanchard back to the practice squad once his injury settlement expires. There is also the possibility that general manager Phil Emery can find another young arm to put on the practice squad.

I think the Bears should apologize to tight end Leonard Pope, especially after they praised Fendi Onobun only to release him at the end of the day. Onobun only caught four of the eight passes thrown his way on Thursday night and has dropped numerous passes during the previous three weeks of the exhibition schedule.

Pope on the other hand, was not given a fair shake, and he is a much more established player. I’m sure at this point that Marc Trestman regrets praising all of Onobun’s practice performances. At the end of the day, it’s all about how you play on game day. It looks like Kyle Adams and Steve Maneri will backup Martellus Bennett. But I think Pope should have gotten a better opportunity.

Armando Allen was always a good athlete but his inability to assist on special teams was his downfall. Rookie running back Michael Ford now needs to prove his worth to the Bears. The release of fullback of Harvey Unga was not surprising considering that he has never really made an impact in a Bears uniform. Now we wait to see if the Bears keep Tony Fiammetta on board.

The Bears have to release five more players before 5 pm today. Reports out of Halas Hall are now indicating that safety Brandon Hardin will be among the final five players to be let go. If that is the case, it adds to the ongoing disappointment that has plagued the young safety’s career. For the most part the roster is set, expect the Bears to let go of another lineman or two before all is said and done.

After today, the Bears will have to establish their eight-man practice squad on Sunday. Follow me on Twitter @GabeSalgado82