Thread: Chicago Bears Cuts Begin

Who else do you think will get cut?



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Thanks for the post Windy. Not too many surprises in that bunch. Ryan Jones and Alex Linnenkohl are guys we may see on the PS if they clear waivers. Maybe the same for either Onrea Jones or Andy Fantuz. Kind of glad to see that it was Williams they cut at FB. That means my guy "Tofu" is still in the hunt. Be curious to see who the 'turk" takes with him tomorrow.

I was thinking Onrea Jones and E.Williams would make the PS.

Originally Posted by short faced bear

I was thinking Onrea Jones and E.Williams would make the PS.

They have to first clear waivers, then they can be signed to the PS.

Not cut yet but you know it's only a matter of a day or two. He still can't average over 2.5 ypc. No way they can keep Taylor over Bell and Barber.








Updated: September 2, 2011, 10:48 AM ET

Hardly Taylor-made

Chester Taylor's Bears career likely at underwhelming ending

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By Jon Greenberg
ESPNChicago.com
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CHICAGO -- If this was really Chester Taylor's last game in a Bears uniform, he went out like he came in, 2 1/2 yards at a time.


Taylor came in last year talking about being the heir apparent to Marshall Faulk in Mike Martz's offense. Instead he put up Kevin Faulk numbers.


[+] EnlargeAP Photo/Nam Y. HuhChester Taylor might have created some fresh tape Thursday, but it's unlikely he earned a roster spot.


That's how it goes, though. Taylor got paid $7 million last year to be an afterthought. Nice work if you can get it.


Now that the preseason is finally over, he's likely to be an ex-Bear by Saturday's final cutdown. Before he bails, he better wait to hear the magic words. Maybe Hawk Harrelson could help with a classic "He gone!" to reinforce the point.


Taylor was briefly the talk of the NFL earlier this week. After standing on the sidelines for the entirety of the third preseason game, he met with coach Lovie Smith on Monday and subsequently assumed he was cut. That news got out, thanks to Twitter, but then his exit was quickly rescinded as the Bears wondered why he wasn't at practice.


His agent called the confusion "a first for me."


Not for Bears-watchers, it wasn't. I'm sure the Baltimore Ravens' brain trust, still raw from the draft day mishap, felt differently.


"I talked to Chester a little bit early on; I guess there was a bit of a misunderstanding on exactly what we talked about," Smith said during the week. "Chester Taylor is still a part of the team.


"I talked to Chester about the reasons why he didn't get any playing time the last game [against the Tennessee Titans on Saturday], and that was that we wanted to take a look at some other players. Evidently he took that the wrong way."


When he was asked which friends from around the league called this week to ask what happened, Taylor, who has a reputation as the kind of dude you don't snap with a towel in the locker room, flashed a smile.


"Nobody," he said Thursday night. "Because I changed my number and they ain't got my number."


Taylor got rewarded with a start in the fourth preseason game. That's an honor traditionally reserved for undrafted rookies, but for Taylor, still expected to be cut, it was his best chance to make an impression on scouts looking for some veteran punch.


"I'm with the Bears tonight, and that's all I was focused on," Taylor said.


Taylor had 10 carries for 27 yards, including a 9-yard scamper. Coming into the game, he had six rushes for 10 yards.


"I'm just satisfied I got through the preseason healthy," he said. "That's all that matters right now."


The communication about his playing time was lucid.


"I knew I was going to play today," he said. "That's all that matters."


Taylor did nothing to hurt whatever trade value he still possesses, meaning he didn't get hurt. If a team acquires Taylor in a trade, it assumes his 2011 salary of $1.25 million and up to $975,000 in performance incentives.


Signed to a deal that paid him about seven times as much as starter Matt Forte last season, Taylor had 112 carries for 267 yards and three touchdowns. That's why the Bears picked up Marion Barber during the abbreviated offseason. He looks like a potent partner for starter Forte.


It wasn't supposed to be like this.


When he was signed during the Bears' free-agent rush of 2010, Taylor was billed as, well, read this quote:


"I'm really looking forward to [playing for Martz], because I can catch the ball and go against linebackers and get open," Taylor said on ESPN 1000. "I just want to have the same impact Marshall Faulk had when he was in Mike Martz's offense."


Yeah, and Brandon Manumaleuna wanted to have the same impact at tight end as Mike Ditka.


The Bears' two whiffs turned out to be unimportant as the team rolled to the NFC Championship Game. The moribund offense could have used another weapon, but Martz couldn't find a way to get him consistent touches.


As the season progressed and his role never crystallized, while Forte prospered, Taylor clearly wasn't happy with his downgraded role but played the good soldier.


"As long as we are winning and as long as we are getting production, I am fine," Taylor said in midseason. "Of course I want to get the ball and help any way I can. But I don't call the plays."


Asked Sunday whether the whole situation was just "life in the NFL," Taylor was succinct. "Basically," he said.


While he collected major cash last year, the kind of money Forte is fighting for now, Taylor just wants to play somewhere this season.


"I still love football," he said. "I still love playing the game. I still think I can still help a team win."

Jon Greenberg is a columnist for ESPNChicago.com