Subscribe
Follow Us
It has been a busy few days for the Chicago Bears.
After making a variety of roster cuts before Tuesday's 53-man roster deadline, Chicago announced its initial roster on Tuesday. The Bears kept six receivers, three tight ends and 10 defensive backs on the roster. Linebackers Tremaine Edmunds, T.J. Edwards and Jack Sanborn all took starting spots for Chicago on the team's depth chart. Edmunds and Edwards signed multi-year contracts with the Bears in March.
Plenty of 2023 NFL Draft picks made the cut on Chicago's initial roster. 17 of the 21 players from Bears executive Ryan Poles' first two draft classes as Chicago's general manager earned roster spots, according to Bears Senior Writer Larry Mayer. Offensive tackle Darnell Wright, the No. 9 selection in the 2023 NFL Draft, was listed as a starter on Chicago's offensive line. The defensive line duo of Gervon Dexter and Zacch Pickens took second-string roles on the other side of the trenches.
Who is one sneaky roster cut survivor who could impact the Bears' roster in 2023?
Andrew Billings
The Bears signed Billings to a one-year, $3.5 million contract in March. The former fourth-round pick spent the last five seasons with the Cleveland Browns, Cincinnati Bengals and Las Vegas Raiders. He played and started in 14 games for the Raiders in 2022, recording a total of 39 tackles, three quarterback hits, three tackles for loss and one sack. In 2022, Billings earned as many as seven tackles during a November win by Las Vegas over the Denver Broncos.
Billings saw a few snaps during the Bears' 2023 NFL preseason run. He played in a total of 27 snaps on the defensive line and two in field goal and extra point blocks, according to Pro Football Focus.
The Bears needed to find ways to shore up their run defense after they finished last season with 2,674 rushing yards allowed. The figure put them in 31st place in the league, according to NFL.com. Their 31 rushing touchdowns allowed put them in dead last in the NFL. Billings will need to work well with defensive lineman Justin Jones, along with some of the team's newest additions on the defensive line, to stop opposing offenses from creating a consistent rhythm in the running game.
“He commands a double team,” Jones said, via NBC Sports Chicago Digital Content Editor Alex Shapiro. “That singles me up. Teams just can't slide to me every time. Teams can't just send a chip my way, send a slide my way. I don't know if you've seen, a lot of the games that we played (last season), the center is always on me, every time.
“Now that we have ends that get upfield and get around the edge, and we've got a guy who can split a double teamー not just Andrew Billings, but Gervon Dexterー you know, guys who can push the line back and stuff like that, that frees me up a lot. So it's exciting.”
Billings and Jones took starting spots with defensive linemen DeMarcus Walker and Yannick Ngakoue on Chicago's depth chart. Billings ended last season with a Pro Football Focus run defense grade of 72.3, putting him on pace with Minnesota Vikings defensive end Danielle Hunter at about 78th place in the NFL for players who played in a minimum of 250 run defense snaps between the regular and postseason.
If Billings can help strengthen Chicago's ability to stop the run, he can be a much-needed addition at the nose tackle and an essential part of the Bears' defense in 2023.
