The Bears will, for now, move forward with five receivers on their initial 53-man roster: Kevin White, Kendall Wright, Markus Wheaton, Joshua Bellamy and Deonte Thompson. Victor Cruz and Tanner Gentry were the most notable cuts from this group.
White, Wright and Wheaton were all locks, while a key special teamer in Bellamy was always likely to be included in this group. Thompson had a productive preseason, which included that 109-yard return of a missed field goal against Arizona.
But this just the initial group, one that could change by the time the Bears return to practice on Monday at Halas Hall. The Bears, with third priority on the waiver wire (behind Cleveland and San Francisco) are likely to be active in seeking out another receiver, which could be why only five receivers made the initial roster.
The reality, though, is that if the Bears have a No. 1 target for Mike Glennon and/or Mitch Trubisky, that player is already on the roster. White will have the most pressure to produce, and even if that isn’t up to the expectations set on him when the Bears drafted him seventh overall in 2015, he needs to show more than previously has. White caught four passes for 32 yards this preseason, and had 19 catches for 187 yards in four games last year.
“He’s a great player and I think in talking to him he understands how good he can be, it’s just a matter of putting that work in out here on the practice field to reap those benefits,” Cruz said on Tuesday before being released over the weekend. “Obviously he’s been up and down with injuries, so this is the year where he has to take over and be the guy that they drafted him to be. I think he’s ready for that and I think he’s conscious of the pressure that’s on him and he’s relishing it.”
Wright has the trust of offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains — who coached him in Tennessee — and converted a trio of third downs last weekend against the Titans on that opening 96-yard scoring drive Glennon engineered. He’s four years removed from that 94-catch, 1,079-yard season, but his production will need to be better than the 29 catches and 416 yards he had last year in Nashville.
The speedy Wheaton has the ability to stretch opposing defenses, but he’s barely practiced in the last month due to an appendectomy and a fractured finger. He’ll need to quickly develop a connection with Glennon — who’s been inconsistent on deep throws — if he’s ready or Week 1.
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It might be unfair to expect a lot out of the rest of this group: Thompson set career highs in receptions and yards last year, but that was with 22 catches and 249 yards, while Bellamy has had similar numbers the last two years to what Thompson did last year.
So this is the biggest question facing the Bears heading into the 2017 season: Can someone step up to fill the void left by Meredith’s injury? Outside help would be nice to add depth, but it’s unlikely a Josh Sitton-sized gift will come the Bears’ way in early September. If the answer to the question is yes, it’ll be because of an internal improvement.
“I feel like I’ve got to step it up a little more,” White said. “Everybody’s got to take their game to another level.”