Chicago Bears News: Six Undrafted Rookies Signed, Getsy On Team’s Receiver Room, Early 2022 Predictions

Bears Bring In Six Undrafted Rookies For Tryouts, Waive Six Six Players

The Chicago Bears are bringing in six undrafted rookies for tryouts in rookie minicamp.

The team announced that they have signed Ball State linebacker Christian Albright, TCU long-snapper Antonio Ortiz, Northern Arizona defensive end Carson Taylor, Ohio running back De’Montre Tuggle, Western Michigan safety A.J. Thomas and Charlotte Safety Jon Alexander.

News of the six signings comes on the day where the Bears waived six other players. Per Alex Shapiro of NBCS, the Bears have waived Ladarius Mack (younger brother of Khalil Mack), Master Teague, Amari Carter, Savon Scarver, Jaylan Alexander and Landon Lenoir.

The Bears enter 2022 with a fresh slate: A new head coach (Matt Eberflus), a new coaching staff and a new front office (led by new GM Ryan Poles). Khalil Mack (traded to the Los Angeles Chargers) and Allen Robinson (signed with the Los Angeles Rams) are no longer with the team. 2021 first-round pick Justin Fields will be tasked with leading the rebuilding group in 2022.

Expectations are very low for a Bears team that carries +10000 Super Bowl odds at both FanDuel and DraftKings. The Bears are one of the main teams that residents of the Prairie State can bet on Illinois sports betting sites. BetRivers is one of the state’s top sportsbooks, and it reached a multi-year partnership deal with the Bears last summer.

Luke Getsy Confident In Bears’ Group Of Receivers

The Bears have been widely criticized for failing to improve the supporting cast around Fields this offseason.  They used their first two draft picks on defensive backs — Washington cornerback Kyler Gordon and Penn State safety Jaquan Brisker. Poles was relatively quiet in free agency despite a deep wide receiver market.

But Chicago’s new offensive coordinator, Luke Getsy, is fully confident in the receiving group he and Fields have in place.

“Everybody wants Davante Adams,” Getsy told reporters on Sunday at the team’s rookie minicamp, per Josh Schrock of NBC Sports. “Who wouldn’t want Davante Adams, right? That’s part of it. But Davante wasn’t Davante until he became Davante. I think the system will enable some of these guys to play at their potential. And so, we’ll see what we can do. We’ll give them an opportunity to show them what they got.”

Getsy added that he’s “been very impressed with” third-year tight end Cole Kmet, and that he’s “excited to see him have a bunch of different roles in our offense”, per Schrock.

Getsy spent the 2020 and 2021 seasons as the quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator of the Green Bay Packers.

Aaron Rodgers won back-to-back MVP awards under Getsy last season. Now, Getsy’s job is to help accelerate the growth of Fields as the Bears transition towards a brand new era.

Early Bears 2022 Predictions

As previously noted, expectations aren’t high for a Bears team that a) hasn’t won a playoff game since the 2010 season and b) hasn’t recorded a winning season since 2018.

While the Bears had a relatively quiet offseason, their three NFC North rivals all made significant moves to get better. The Minnesota Vikings re-signed Patrick Peterson and drafted safety Lewis Cine and cornerback Andrew Booth Jr. to address their secondary.

The Detroit Lions won’t be contenders in 2022, but the draft selections of pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson (third overall) and wide receiver Jameson Williams (12th overall) will help them improve on their 2021 record (3-13-1).

The Green Bay Packers may have lost superstar wideout Davante Adams (traded to the Las Vegas), but they remain far and away the team to beat in the NFC North.

On top of that, the Bears have to play the brutally difficult AFC East division which featured three teams with winning records a year ago. Even if Fields makes significant progress in year two, Chicago’s schedule and lack of star power on both sides of the ball will simply prevent them improving much (if at all) in 2022.

The way-too-early 2022 prediction here is that the Bears will go 5-12 and finish last in the NFC North division for the first time since 2017.

Eberflus and Poles were hired for a rebuilding process, and patience is a virtue in the Windy City.