Bears sign try-out player T.J. Wheatley Jr.

On Thursday the Chicago Bears signed offensive lineman T.J. Wheatley Jr. to their offseason roster, this according to his agent via social media.

Wheatley (6’6”, 290) was at minicamp the last three days on a tryout basis with four other players, but he was the only one that did enough to pick up Chicago’s 90th roster spot… for now.

EDIT: The Bears also signed veteran defensive lineman Mike Pennel, who was also at Halas Hall trying out.

He most recently played in The Spring League, where he was working on transitioning to offensive line after playing mostly tight end during his three team college career.

The 24-year old Wheatley was a highly recruited tight end that choose the Michigan Wolverines in 2015, but he transferred to Stony Brook for the 2018 season. He finished his collegiate career at Morgan State in 2019 playing for his dad, head coach Tyrone Wheatley Sr., who had a 10 year career as a running back in the NFL.

With mandatory minicamp wrapped up the Bears won’t fully reconvene until training camp in late July.