Last year, the Bears found a keeper the day after their final roster was announced.
After teams were whittled down to 53 players, the Bears learned they had won a waiver claim on a little-known rookie safety who played at Findlay and had been let go by the Cardinals. After starting four times last year, Harold Jones-Quartey will start Week 1 against the Texans. The team also scored offensive lineman Patrick Omameh, who started nine times for the Bears last year.
They can only hope to find similar magic this year. Lord knows they’ll try.
The Bears figure to be one of the most active teams on waivers Sunday as they attempt to remake the bottom of their roster on the fly.
They could eye former Panthers fifth-round pick Zack Sanchez, a rookie cornerback with whom they had a formal meeting at the NFL Scouting Combine after a standout career at Oklahoma. He was waived Saturday. Or the Bears could consider former Jets cornerback Dee Milliner, who was waived with a hamstring injury reported to be mild three years after being chosen ninth in the draft.
The Bears have depth issues at cornerback because of injuries to starters Tracy Porter (concussion), Kyle Fuller (arthroscopic knee surgery) and Bryce Callahan (hamstring). They claimed Browns castoff cornerback K’Waun Williams on Tuesday, but he failed his physical the next day.
The Bears need help on the offensive line after Hroniss Grasu’s knee injury forced Ted Larsen, their only proven backup, into the starting lineup, and at tight end, where Zach Miller is the only solid option.
The Bears are 10th in the waiver order, which is based on draft order until after Week 3. Waiver rules are simple: Once a team waives a player with less than four years of tenure, each one of the 31 other teams can place a request to claim him. The highest ranking team in the waiver order gets him.
Before they practice Monday, too, the Bears will establish a 10-man practice squad. Starting this season, teams can keep up to four players who have two or more accrued seasons; those are defined by spending at least six weeks on the 53-man roster in a season.
