Bears waive RT Jordan Mills, add two via waivers

The Bears waive tackle Jordan Mills on Sunday, further clouding the Bears’ uncertainty at right tackle.

The third-year player had battled Charles Leno Jr. for the starting job. Neither impressed during the preseason, leading the Bears to further explore starting guard Kyle Long at right tackle in the past week.

Unless the Bears are completely sold on Leno — and he struggled even in the fourth preseason game — it seems they’ve moved closer to moving Long to right tackle.

The Bears have used Vladimir Ducasse at right guard when Long has shifted outside, and could consider Sunday’s waiver claim, too. The Bears added the Buccaneers’ Patrick Omameh, who started all 16 games at right guard last season, via the waiver wire. Omameh went undrafted out of Michigan in 2013

The Bears also claimed, and were awarded, Cardinals safety Harold Jones-Quartey, an undrafted rookie from Findlay. He played wide receiver his first two seasons there before moving full-time to safety.

To make room, the Bears waived Mills and terminated the contract of vested veteran safety Sherrod Martin, who earned a training camp invite out of a spring tryout at Halas Hall.

Drafted in the fifth round in 2013, Mills started all 16 games as a rookie, earning the most money in NFLPA performance-based pay, earning an extra $318,244 on top of his rookie minimum salary of $405,000.

He started 13 games last season, though when coach Marc Trestman tinkered with using him at guard in practice, it became clear that some considered him a backup. Over two years, his struggles were no secret. Pro Football Focus have him a positive grade in five of 29 starts.

Mills started at right tackle in Thursday’s preseason finale. Asked about getting another look at Mills, coach John Fox didn’t address him directly.

“I think it was important to get looks at everybody,” he said. “Like I said, when you have to cut from 75 to 53 players, it’s never easy. Just from a numbers standpoint, I think it was important that everyone got looks. It was no different with Mills.”

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Email: pfinley@suntimes.com