From FGs to RBs, here are 5 things to watch in Bears’ preseason finale

The few open spots left on the Bears’ 53-man roster are up for grabs Thursday in their last preseason game.

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The Bears’ Ryan Nall runs the ball downfield during the second quarter against the Colts on Saturday.

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The few open spots on the Bears’ 53-man roster will be up for grabs in their last preseason game Thursday.

The Bears will sit out at least their top 30 players when they host the Titans. Another 15 or so have Week 1 jobs locked up. The rest are fighting for their NFL lives.

‘‘We’re still unsure at some spots,’’ coach Matt Nagy said. ‘‘That’s every team right now. No one knows fully who their guys are gonna be.

‘‘We feel like we have a lot of tough decisions ahead, and I think some of that, it’s not all going to be here in this fourth preseason game. But it’ll either help or hurt some others.’’

With cuts due at 3 p.m. Saturday, here are five things to watch:

Kickin’ ahead

Nothing matters more than kicker Eddy Pineiro’s performance.

A perfect night could cement his place on the roster. But if he struggles, Pineiro could spook the Bears into looking elsewhere, be it the trade market Friday or the waiver wire Sunday.

Since Pineiro hooked a 48-yard kick wide left in the second quarter of the first preseason game, he has made all five of his field-goal attempts, including a 58-yarder Saturday.

Nagy never has tried to kick in his life — ‘‘I’d hurt myself,’’ he said — but joked that he’s becoming an expert on the position.

‘‘It’s a unique situation that we’re all in, and I think I’m learning how to handle these situations, too,’’ Nagy said. ‘‘This is my first time going through it. Am I going to be right with everything I do and say? No. But hopefully there’s a good story behind all this. And for all of us, how cool would it be for it to work out, and you go through some ups and downs to find that guy?’’

RB battle

Ryan Nall isn’t built like the rest of the Bears’ running backs. At 6-2 and 239 pounds, he’s three inches taller and 17 pounds heavier than the next-largest player in his position room. He seems an odd fit on a roster filled with versatile, quick rushers.

‘‘I think it helps me,’’ Nall said. ‘‘It’s been my situation my whole life.’’

Coaches tried moving him to tight end in his second year at Oregon State. That barely lasted through spring football, and he eventually ran for 2,216 yards in his college career.

The Bears likely have one spot for Nall or rookie Kerrith Whyte, whose straight-line speed rivals that of Tarik Cohen. Nall and Whyte have split carries this offseason — Nall has 16, Whyte 14 — and will get one more chance to do so Thursday.

‘‘They are very different,’’ Nagy said. ‘‘I like that, though. What it does is it challenges us as a coaching staff as to, ‘What are you looking for?’ ’’

The answer, probably, is a special-teams player. With Cohen, Mike Davis and rookie David Montgomery in the backfield, the Bears don’t need another ball carrier — at least until someone gets hurt.

‘‘They’re both good in special teams, so they’re pushing each other,’’ Nagy said.

No Bull?

With the roster more cemented than in recent years, a popular parlor game has asked this question: Who will be the Bears’ most notable player cut?

The answer might be defensive end Jonathan Bullard. A third-round pick in 2016, Bullard has started five games and has two sacks in three seasons. If the Bears keep only five defensive linemen, they might prefer nose tackle Nick Williams — or a waiver claim — to Bullard.

‘‘Go out and execute and make plays,’’ Bullard said. ‘‘The rest will take care of itself. I would think I had a pretty good camp.’’

The tackle problem

The Bears figure to be in the market for a swing tackle this weekend. T.J. Clemmings hurt his quad Saturday and is out for the season. Rashaad Coward missed his second week of practice with an injury to his left elbow.

That leaves guard Alex Bars, a rookie from Notre Dame, to play left tackle against the Titans. He slid over to the spot when Clemmings was hurt against the Colts.

‘‘You see some good things,’’ Nagy said. ‘‘You know you do — or you don’t — have it. That opened us up a little bit to see some flexibility with him.’’

The Bears are in trouble if they start the season with Bars as their backup tackle. But his versatility might help him make the team as an eighth offensive lineman.

‘No regrets’

Outside linebacker James Vaughters has lived Nagy’s mantra. In three preseason games, he has forced two fumbles, recovered two more and logged two sacks.

‘‘You’re telling these guys, ‘No regrets, no regrets,’ ’’ Nagy said. ‘‘And he’s doing a great job with that.’’

Vaughters, 26, never has played in a regular-season NFL game, but he has one more chance to make his case to do so.

‘‘He’s around that football,’’ Nagy said. ‘‘He’s quick around the edge. A lot of times you see these guys, and they sack the quarterback. But what James is doing is, he’s going after that football. And it’s just something that our own guy here [Khalil Mack] does a lot. He sacks the football.’’

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