Bears roster tracker: Follow team’s moves through cutdowns, waivers

The Bears have until the end of their Thursday night exhibition game to 3 p.m. Saturday to trim their roster from 88 players to the league-mandated 53.

Here’s a running total of who’s on their way out:

Monday

3:45 p.m. — The Bears added tight end Ben Braucker, whom they cut Sunday, to the practice squad. They cut safety Chris Prosinski with an injury settlement.

10:20 a.m. — The Bears placed defensive back Deiondre Hall on injured reserve with a hamstring injury and brought back defensive lineman John Jenkins, who was cut Saturday. Hall can return midseason; each team gets two players they can bring back from IR.

10:15 a.m. — The Bears made the Cameron Lee-to-the-practice-squad move official.

Sunday

7:00 p.m.— The Bears signed eight players to the practice squad: receiver Tanner Gentry, defensive back DeAndre Houston-Carson, outside linebacker Isaiah Irving, inside linebackers Jonathan Anderson and John Timu, nose tackle Rashaad Coward, guard Brandon Greene and tackle Dieugot Joseph. Guard/tackle Cameron Lee, an Illinois State alum, is expected to sign with the Bears as soon as Monday, and the Bears could pursue Braunecker to round out the practice squad.

3:00 p.m. — The Bears will sign offensive lineman Cameron Lee to their practice squad. Lee, an Illinois State product, visited the Bears before the draft. He was signed by the Saints as an undrafted free agent, but he was later released. He was then signed by the Bengals and appeared in all four of their preseason games.

2:06 p.m. — After successfully claiming long snapper Andrew DePaola, receiver Tre McBride and running back Taquan Mizzell off waivers, the Bears waived long snapper Jeff Overbaugh, running back Jeremy Langford and tight end Ben Braunecker.

Jordan Howard replaced Langford, a fourth-round pick in the 2015 draft, as the Bears’ feature back last season. Langford struggled to regain the success he experienced as a rookie after suffering a high-ankle sprain last season and undergoing offseason surgery.

Braunecker, a undrafted free-agent signing last year from Harvard, is expected to be re-signed to the practice squad, but he needs to clear waivers.

12:52 p.m. — Rashaad Coward, who joined the Bears signed as an undrafted free agent defensive lineman from Old Dominion after the draft, is expected to be placed on the practice squad, sources said.

12:40 p.m. — Offensive lineman Brandon Greene will join the Bears practice squad, a source said. He joined the team mid-training camp after playing both offensive line and tight end at Alabama.

12:25 p.m. — As expected, the Bears moved QB Connor Shaw to injured reserve.

12:20 p.m. —Tackle Dieugot Joseph is headed to the practice squad, sources said. The 6-6, 304 pounder is an undrafted free agent from FIU.

12:05 p.m. — The Bears claimed three players off the waiver wire: former Buccaneers long snapper Andrew DePaola, former Titans receiver Tre McBride and former Ravens running back Taquan Mizzell.

Mizzell led all Ravens rushers this preseason with 126 yards on 40 carries, andand led all receivers with 12 catches for 90 yards. The Ravens were interested in returning the rookie from Virginia to their practice squad, had he cleared waivers.

McBride, who is 6-feet, 210 pounds, is a 2015 seventh-round pick from William & Mary. He shined this preseason but has only two catches for eight yards on his career resume — and those came as a rookie.

DePaola will replace Bears long snapper Jeff Overbaugh.

Noon— Receiver Tanner Gentry cleared waivers and will join the Bears’ practice squad, sources told Adam L. Jahns. The Bears kept only five receivers on their active roster but hoped to pass Gentry, who played perhaps better than any other receiver on the team during training camp, through waivers.

Saturday

5:45 p.m. — The Bears are one of the last NFL teams to announce their 53-man roster.

5:45 p.m. — Pernell McPhee is back. He passed his physical; how useful he’ll be after recovering from late July arthroscopic knee surgery is a different question. Still, the Bears regained one of their emotional leaders Saturday, activating him from the PUP list and onto their 53-man roster before the league deadline to do so.

5:45 p.m. — The Bears officially placed outside linebacker Lamarr Houston, who suffered a knee injury in the preseason finale, on injured reserve. They terminated the contract of a another veteran outside linebacker, Dan Skuta.5:40 p.m. — Defensive end Jaye Howard, who was recovering from a hip injury throughout camp, was one of the veterans whose contract was terminated.2:25 p.m. — Bears rookie guard Jordan Morgan will go on injured reserve, sources told Patrick Finley. He was the team’s fifth-round pick. Morgan had experienced shoulder pain this preseason.

12:2o p.m. — The Bears are waiving running back Josh Rounds, sources said. Signed after the start of camp, the undrafted rookie from Tulane led the Bears with 36 rushing attempts, but averaged only 2.3 yards per carry.

11:58 p.m. — Running back Ka’Deem Carey will be placed on injured reserve after having surgery on his wrist two weeks ago, sources confirmed to Patrick Finley. Carey could be a candidate for an injury settlement, which would likely end his Bears career. Carey ran 111 times for 443 yards since being drafted in the fourth round in 2013, but emerged as a solid special teams player in the last year. The Bears had significant depth at running back, with Pro Bowler Jordan Howard and rookie Tarik Cohen at the top of the depth chart.

11:06 a.m. — The Bears are waiving receiver Tanner Gentry, sources told Adam L. Jahns. The undrafted player out of Wyoming was a training camp star, and his odds of making the team seemed to improve when Cam Meredith tore his ACL, but the Bears are hoping he can clear waivers and rejoin the team’s practice squad. Gentry had four catches for 77 yards and a 45-yard touchdown reception from Mitch Trubisky, with whom he had good chemistry, in the third preseason game. He also played special teams, a crucial step for a rookie trying to make the team.

10:55 a.m. — The Bears are waiving safety Harold Jones-Quartey, sources confirmed. Jones-Quartey started 12 games last year but the Bears have overhauled tehe safety position, signing Quintin Demps and drafting Eddie Jackson, who seems likely to start alongside the former Texan. Adrian Amos figures to serve as a backup. Jones-Quartey was a waiver claim on the eve of the 2015 season after going undrafted out of Findlay.

10:15 a.m. — The Bears will release kicker Roberto Aguayo, per ESPN. The Bears claimed Aguayo off waivers from the Buccaneers, where he had struggled since being picked in the second round last year, in mid-August. In doing so, they guaranteed a $428,000 loss for themselves if Aguayo goes unclaimed around the league.

The Bears said Aguayo would ramp up the kicker competition, and it did — Connor Barth was perfect in practice on Aguayo’s first day, and went 3-for-3 in games. Aguayo missed his only field goal try in preseason games, a badly shanked attempt against the Cardinals.

Friday

5:45 p.m. — The Bears plan to waive quarterback Connor Shaw with an injury designation, sources told Patrick Finley, after he suffered a hamstring injury in with 69 seconds left in their final preseason game.

Shaw played 35 snaps in relief of rookie Mitch Trubisky. He went 11-for-18 for 110 yards and was sacked three times, including once for a safety, before he was injured while being shoved out of bounds. The team has long extolled the virtues of Shaw, who might have won the Bears’ backup job last preseason had he not suffered a gruesome broken leg in the third preseason game.

He returned from the injury and was cut during OTAs — but only for a few hours. When Mark Sanchez injured his knee in practice, the Bears were able to rescind the waiver; Shaw turned the car around in Kentucky and drove back to Halas Hall.

Sanchez might be the Bears player most affected by Shaw’s departure. The Bears wanted to keep Shaw on the practice squad; with him gone, they might choose to keep Sanchez as their third quarterback, which would help with practice preparations.

4:17 p.m. — A little more than three months after signing Victor Cruz with hopes he could provide a strong voice in their receivers’ room and rekindle his playing career, the Bears will part ways with the former Giants star, a source confirmed Friday. The Record first reported the move.

Cruz was clearly behind another slot receiver to whom the Bears gave a one-year, $2 million deal this offseason: Kendall Wright, who had previous experience playing for coordinator Dowell Loggains as a member of the Titans. Coaches praised Wright’s knack for finding open spaces in the defense; he finished second on the team in preseason catches and receiving yards.

Cruz had his knee examined Friday after suffering an injury in the Bears’ preseason finale Thursday.

A former Super Bowl champion known league-wide for his celebratory salsa, Cruz found himself all too often playing late in preseason games, alongside less accomplished players. He said Tuesday he thought he was playing well.

“I still feel like the quickness is there,” he said. “I still feel like the play-making ability is there. Now it’s just to continue to show that each and every time I’m on the field, whether it will be practice or on game day.”

3:55 p.m. — The Bears waived tight end MyCole Pruitt, who they claimed away from the Vikings last season, sources confirmed to Patrick Finley.

3:45 p.m. — The Bears will waive tackle Will Poehls, sources tell Adam L. Jahns. He worked with the first- and second-team offense at times in camp.