Bears promote defensive lineman Jonathan Harris, waive Bradley Sowell again

The Bears continued to shuffle the back end of the roster on Saturday, promoting defensive lineman Jonathan Harris to the 53-man roster. As a corresponding move, the team waived tight end Bradley Sowell for the second time in five days.

Harris, an undrafted free agent out of Division II school Lindenwood, tallied seven tackles for the Bears in the preseason this year. The 6-foot-5, 295-pound lineman finished his collegiate career with 22 sacks. A local product, Harris was a standout at nearby high school Waubonsie Valley in Aurora.

Sowell was also waived last Sunday in order to promote another defensive lineman—Abdullah Anderson—from the practice squad, but was brought back on Thursday after the team waived running back Kerrith Whyte Jr.

The promotion of Harris indicates that the Bears may not be hopeful regarding Akiem Hicks’ availability for Sunday’s matchup against the Vikings. The Pro Bowler suffered a knee injury in last week’s matchup in Washington and did not practice at all this week, though the Bears have yet to rule him out for the game.