Bears announce initial 14-man UDFA class and rookie minicamp roster
On the eve of their rookie minicamp, the Chicago Bears have announced they have signed the following undrafted free agents.
Offense:
Nick Amoah, OL, California-Davis (6-2, 306)
Robert Haskins, OL, USC (6-5, 297)
Gabriel Houy, OL, Pittsburgh (6-6, 306)
Lorenz Metz, OL, Cincinnati (6-9, 316)
Tyson Bagent, QB, Shepherd (6-3, 213)
Robert Burns, FB, Connecticut (5-11, 222)
Damien Caffrey, TE, Stony Brook (6-6, 262)
Aron Cruikshank, WR, Rutgers (5-9, 165)
Thyrick Pitts, WR, Delaware (6-1, 201)
Defense:
Micah Baskerville, LB, LSU (6-0, 224)
Justin Broiles, S, Oklahoma (5-10, 191)
Macon Clark, S, Tulane (5-11, 203)
Jalen Harris, DE, Arizona (6-4, 257)
Special teams:
Andre Szmyt, PK, Syracuse (6-0, 200)
The Bears also announced their full roster for Friday and Saturday's rookie minicamp, and besides the fourteen UDFAs above, the following players will also be at Halas Hall.
Draft picks:
Even though only four of the ten picks have signed, their entire 2023 NFL Draft class will be there practicing. The NFL has a rule that if an unsigned draft pick is injured, he'll receive his slotted salary as if he had signed.
Bears first-year pros:
Chase Allen, TE
Ryan Anderson, P
Kuony Deng, LB
Kellen Diesch, OL
Donovan Jeter, DT
Doug Kramer, C
Kramer was a sixth-round pick a season ago, but an injury in August landed him on injured reserve. The rumor then was that it was a Lisfranc injury, so Kramer will try to make up for lost time with a good showing at camp. He tested well athletically pre-draft, and for a refresher on his game, you can check out Jacob's mini-breakdown here.
Veteran tryouts:
Jacob Breeland, TE
Stephen Carlson, TE
Trey Edmunds, FB
Jacob Harris, WR
Edmunds is the older brother of Bears' middle linebacker Tremaine Edmunds.
Rookie tryouts:
Desmond Bessent, Buffalo, OL
Jaden Blue, Virginia Tech, WR
KeSean Carter, Houston, WR
Andrew Clair, Northwestern, RB
Kenderick Duncan, Louisville, DB
Alfred Edwards, Utah State, OL
Kyle Harmon, San Jose State, LB
D’Anthony Jones, Houston, DL
Logan Kendall, Utah, TE
DeShun Kitchings, Newberry, WR
Danny Kittner, Mary (ND), WR
Chris Kolarevic, Nebraska, LB
Josh Lugg, Notre Dame, OL
Donny Navarro, Northwestern, WR
Callahan O'Reilly, Montana State, LB
N'Kosi Perry, Florida Atlantic, QB
Lachlan Pitts, William & Mary, TE
Dominic Quewon, Southern Miss, DL
Erik Sorensen, Northern Iowa, OL
D'Jordan Strong, Coastal Carolina, DB
Destin Talbert, North Dakota State, DB
Chris Toth, Aurora, OL
Bralen Trahan, Louisiana, DB
De'Jahn Warren, Jackson State, DB
Samuel Wheeler, Kansas State, LS
Amaud Willis-Dalton, McNeese State, DB
Tre Worthham, Connecticut, DB
Jordan Wright, Kentucky, DL
International Pathway Player:
Roy Mbaetrka, OL
In case you missed it, earlier today the NFL announced that the Bears are one of eight clubs (the NFC North and AFC West teams) selected to participate in their International Player Pathway (IPP) program. "One Australian, one French and six Nigerian players from the 2023 IPP have been allocated to NFL clubs, the highest number in a single year since the program's inception."
Chicago's player is 23-year-old Mbaeteka (6-8, 331) from Nigeria, and he spent parts of last season on the Giants' practice squad. New York offered him a reserve/futures deal earlier this year, but he declined so he could re-enter the IPP program.
The players in the program will remain with their teams through training camp, and then they'll be eligible for an international player practice squad exemption. If the player is able, he is allowed to be elevated to the active roster during the season.
Source: Windy City Gridiron
