Bears cuts led by Jeremy Langford

After claiming three players off of waivers earlier Sunday afternoon, the Chicago Bears needed to make some cuts to create space and correspond for their active 53-man roster. Such is the final churn of the NFL before the regular season.

The first cut, in perhaps a surprising move to some, was former 2015 fourth-round pick Jeremy Langford. The 25-year-old had a solid enough rookie season with 816 yards from scrimmage. But, he never proved to be more than a "scatback" who also couldn't stay healthy of late with two ankle injuries in the past approximate year. It's unlikely the Bears maintain Langford on their practice squad given their current stable of running backs and the likelihood of a waiver claim before the season may be just as tenuous.

Next, it was never realistic to expect the Bears to actually keep five tight ends on the active roster. So, the player at of the bottom of the rung in Ben Braunecker is the odd man out. The Harvard product has grown up aplenty in the past year or so, but is probably nothing more than a depth tight end and special teams piece. He has great odds to stick to the Bears' practice squad from that perspective.

Finally, after signing the experienced long snapper in Andrew DePaola away, the Bears cut their existing short-lived starter at the position in Jeff Overbaugh - who was signed this week to replace the injured Patrick Scales.

Almost every roster duty is checked and ready to go before the Bears open the 2017 season against the Atlanta Falcons next Sunday.

Robert Zeglinski is the Bears beat writer for the Rock River Times and is an editor for Windy City Gridiron. You can follow him on Twitter @RobertZeglinski.