The Bears will keep four tight ends on their initial 53-man roster, a league source told NBC Sports Chicago Friday night: Trey Burton, Adam Shaheen, Ben Braunecker and Bradley Sowell.
Undrafted rookies Ian Bunting, Dax Raymond, Jesper Horsted and Ellis Richardson were all waived. Raymond, who suffered a concussion in Thursday's preseason finale, was cut with a waived/injured designation.
It's not surprising the Bears will keep that group of four tight ends based on the team's trust in Burton, Shaheen and Braunecker, and coach Matt Nagy's recent comments preaching patience regarding Sowell's move from offensive line to tight end. Still, this is a unit the Bears could look to bolster via the waiver wire or free agency in the next 24 hours ahead of Sunday's practice at Halas Hall, the first leading up to Thursday's Week 1 opener against the Green Bay Packers.
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Braunecker is the primary "U" (move) backup behind Burton, while Sowell will back up Shaheen at the "Y" (in-line) spot. While guys like Bunting and Horsted had productive pass-catching preseason showings, both needed work as run blockers, leading to their release ahead of Saturday's 3 p.m. CT deadline for teams to trim their roster to 53 players. The Bears clearly valued Sowell's run blocking ability over whatever potential receiving upside someone like Bunting may have had, though he and Horsted could be options for the practice squad.
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