The Bears Den, September 2, 2017: Cutdown Day

BEAR DOWN, CHICAGO BEARS, BEAR DOWN!!!!

BEARRRSSSS

Campbell & Biggs: Bears to cut Connor Shaw, Victor Cruz and 8 others as roster reduction begins - Chicago Tribune - Quarterback Connor Shaw and receiver Victor Cruz will not be on the 53-man Bears roster when the first version of it is set at the 3 p.m. deadline Saturday.

Rosenbloom: Can Bears explain why John Fox wasn't fired for his handling of Mitch Trubisky? - Chicago Tribune - John Fox doesn’t get it. Not that we’re surprised — but Fox doesn’t get the care and feeding of Mitch Trubisky, the quarterback of the future.

Biggs: Bears' 53-man roster - How many QBs will they keep? - Chicago Tribune - 10 thoughts after the Bears closed out the preseason Thursday night at Soldier Field where they were shut out 25-0 by the Cleveland Browns.

Lincicome: Some NFL predictions sure to come true - or not - Chicago Tribune - How many of these NFL predictions will come true? Based on past you can figure only thing wrong with Bears' play-action pass will be play, action and pass.

Stankevitz: How the Bears' 2017 draft class fared in its first preseason - CSN Chicago -Tarik Cohen and Eddie Jackson carved out key Week 1 roles, while Mitchell Trubisky sped up his development clock over the last month.

STL Podcast: Why did Mitch Trubisky play in the fourth quarter of a meaningless preseason game? - CSN Chicago - Chris Emma (670TheScore.com), Kevin Fishbain (The Athletic) and Jordan Bernfield join Leila Rahimi on the panel. They discuss the Cubs fifth straight win, the madness behind Mitch Trubisky playing the 4th quarter of a meaningless preseason game as well as what big names might get cut. Plus Dan Hayes has the latest on the White Sox’ roster moves and the panel gets you ready for the first true Saturday of the college football season.

Stankevitz: Victor Cruz reportedly cut as Bears seek solutions at wide receiver - CSN Chicago - The receiver-strapped Bears will release veteran Victor Cruz, according to multiple reports. Cruz caught six passes for 37 yards and a touchdown in preseason.

Pompei: Observations From Bears-Browns - CBS Chicago - The preseason showed the Bears’ depth is significantly improved.

LeGere: Kwiatkoski ready to step up for Bears' defense - Daily Herald - Second-year inside linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski is an example of the talent and depth that has the Bears excited about the potential of this year's defense. After getting seven starts as a rookie, Kwiatkoski is better prepared to fill in if Danny Trevathan is not fully recovered from last season's knee injury.

Making the cut: Our 53-man Bears roster projection - Chicago Sun-Times - General manager Ryan Pace believes this is the deepest the Bears have been talent-wise since he arrived three years ago.

Finley: Has CB Kyle Fuller made the Bears' roster? - Chicago Sun-Times - Being a healthy scratch in the final preseason game is John Fox’s assurance a player has made the team.

Halas Intrigue: Has QB Mark Sanchez made the Bears' roster? - Chicago Sun-Times - Patrick Finley is joined by Chicago Sun-Times colleague Mark Potash to debate whether QB Mark Sanchez — and others — will make the Bears roster:

Potash: Primed for a big year, pressure is on Bears' defense to carry the load | Chicago Sun-Times - That anticipation among key defensive players seems to be a little heightened after an encouraging preseason for the first-team defense.

Cahill: What was John Fox thinking with Mitch Trubisky? | Chicago Sun-Times - The great debate in Chicago was all about rookie phenom Mitch Trubisky and the decision to start him in a meaningless curtain call.

Finley: From hot start to curious finish, Mitch Trubisky's preseason was elite - Chicago Sun-Times - Mitch Trubisky’s preseason started with a completions streak and ended with a complete head-scratcher.

Bears roster tracker: Who the team is cutting as preseason ends - Chicago Sun-Times - The Bears have until the end of their Thursday night exhibition game to 3 p.m. Saturday to trim their roster from 88 players to the league-mandated 53

Mayer: NFL teams must reach roster limit Saturday - ChicagoBears - With the elimination of the cut down to 75 this year, the Bears and the other 31 NFL teams will release more than 1,000 players to reach the mandatory 53-man roster limit by 3 p.m. Saturday.

Warja: Bears QB Mike Glennon Just Needs to Manage the Game - 312 SPORTS - All the Bears need Mike Glennon to do is to be a game-manager. Manage the game, by handing the ball off to Jordan Howard, and hitting short passes out of the backfield to the backs and slot receiver. If he can do that successfully, and get the tight end involved, the Bears defense should keep the game close enough to where the Bears might actually be close late in seven or eight games this season (though I’m not saying they win them all).

POLISH SAUSAGE

Smith: Saints’ Willie Snead suspended first three games – ProFootballTalk - Saints receiver Willie Snead won't play in the first three games of the season. Snead has been suspended for three games for violating the league's substance-abuse policy, according to multiple reports. "It’s unfortunate, and knowing Willie, a bit surprising," Saints coach Sean Payton said.

KNOW THY ENEMY

Noonan: Seahawks trade for Sheldon Richardson, Packers' Week 1 fame gets harder - Acme Packing Company - An NFC rival further strengthened their defensive line on Friday.

WLudford: Vikings Reportedly Trade for CB Tramaine Brock from Seattle - Daily Norseman - Wow! The Vikings reportedly have traded for Seattle CB Tramaine Brock, per a report by Mike Garafolo on Twitter:

Lions roster moves: Ezekiel Ansah, Corey Robinson activated from PUP - Pride Of Detroit - The Lions got two big names back on Friday.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT ON WINDY CITY GRIDIRON

Wiltfong: Bears “Can’t Miss Predictions” That Are Sure To Miss - Windy City Gridiron - First off, I ganked this idea from our sibling site, Big Blue View. They had so much fun with it, I had to do it over here too.

Wiltfong: Bears Cut-down Tracker - Windy City Gridiron - Cut down, waiver wire, Chicago Bears, release, 53 man roster

Wiltfong: Chicago Bears release Victor Cruz - Windy City Gridiron - Hopefully you’ve got our Chicago Bears cut down tracker locked and loaded for frequent updates as the Bears whittle their off season roster down to 53 players.

Wiltfong: Chicago Bears waive/injured Connor Shaw - Windy City Gridiron - The Chicago Bears have released quarterback Connor Shaw with the waived/injured designation. In case you missed it, Ken went over all the waiver wire rules a couple days ago right here; NFL Waiver...

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