After second-year Terell Smith was hurt during the Chicago Bears’ Week 3 loss to the Indianapolis Colts, the team is making changes to their cornerback group.
The Bears fired rookie cornerback Ro Torrence on Wednesday in retaliation for signing former New England Patriots sixth-round pick Ameer Speed to their 16-man practice squad, according the team’s September 25 transaction wire.
During his debut season in 2023, Speed participated in 13 games. He started five of those games with the Patriots before playing eight games with the Colts. Despite playing only 12 defensive snaps, he was heavily active (227 snaps) on special teams, where he had nine total tackles.
With Smith out of the picture, the Bears now have Speed to consider as a depth promotion for their cornerback room. Smith’s status is uncertain as the club prepares to visit the Los Angeles Rams on September 29 due to a hip injury he suffered in Sunday’s 21-16 defeat to the Colts. Smith did not participate in Wednesday’s first practice of Week 4.
The Bears made a similar shake-up at tight end just one day before to their most recent roster changes. They signed Teagan Quitoriano, a fifth-round pick in 2022, to replace Stephen Carlson, who was promoted from the practice squad to the 53-man roster.
The Bears don’t appear to have any tight end injuries that would have necessitated a roster move, unlike at cornerback, but maybe Carlson can provide them with more blocking assistance.
In Week 4, how will the Bears handle Terell Smith’s injury?
If Smith is unable to play against the Rams in Week 4, the Bears may need to address their depth issue; however, this will depend on if they believe they need more than two backups.
The Bears’ official depth chart lists Smith, a fifth-round pick in 2023, as the top perimeter backup behind Tyrique Stevenson. Smith is one of three backups in the rotation. Nevertheless, none of the three Bears players—Jaylon Jones, Josh Blackwell, and himself—have participated in more than one defensive snap this season.
On special teams, Jones and Blackwell are also far more active than Smith. In the first three games, each player has played more than twice as many third-phase snaps as Smith, which means they will have fewer options to replace him if Smith’s injury prevents him from playing against the Rams.
However, don’t expect the Bears to use the recently signed Speed if they determine they need more help at the position. A standout preseason performer, Reddy Steward is an undrafted rookie on the Bears practice squad. Given that he has had more time to familiarize himself with their defense than Speed, the Bears are more inclined to trust Steward than Speed.
How Might Stephen Carlson’s Promotion Affect TEs?
Although many supporters have been clamoring for the Bears to make roster changes (offensive linemen, anyone? ), Carlson’s elevation is a bit unexpected.
Although Carlson has been associated with the Bears since May 2023, the team currently has three tight ends on its 53-man roster, and as of the start of Week 4, all three of them are healthy. This includes Cole Kmet, Gerald Everett, and Marcedes Lewis. Thus, the question raised by Carlson’s promotion is: What are the Bears planning for him?
Special teams could be one explanation. Despite only playing on one special teams snap in 2023, Carlson has banked more special teams snaps (450) than offensive snaps (294) since entering the league in 2019. The Bears may be interested in testing him in the third phase with Smith and running back Travis Homer (who vacated the roster spot that Carlson took when he went on IR) unavailable.
It’s also conceivable that offensive coordinator Shane Waldron hopes to add a second, larger tight end to the team in order to strengthen their run blocking. Although Lewis, who is 40 years old, was brought back by the Bears to serve as a blocking tight end and mentor, Lewis has had trouble with false starts in the last two games.
In any case, as the Bears try to advance offensively, it will be intriguing to watch how they deploy Carlson, if at all, against the Rams.
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