Chicago Bears: Final 53-man roster prediction after training camp

Inside Linebackers (4)

Who’s in: Danny Trevathan, Roquan Smith, Joel Iyiegbuniwe, Josh Woods
Practice Squad: Rashad Smith

The Bears’ inside linebackers unit had incredible depth. They got a chance to showcase that depth when Trevathan and Smith both had their seasons cut down because of injuries. Nick Kwiatkoski and Kevin Pierre-Louis stepped up big and played well in the starters’ absence.

Those backups did such a good job that they played themselves out of Chicago. Kwiatkoski found big money and a starting job with the Las Vegas Raiders and Pierre-Louis is now a backup in Washington.

Both Trevathan and Smith are healthy now and ready to resume their careers. Both were on their way to having big seasons before their injuries got the best of them and now they want to contribute to an elite defense. Smith is ready to have a breakout season. He had a good rookie campaign despite not having any work during training camp. He was on his way to improving upon that season before a torn pectoral muscle ended his season.

Trevathan is a big part of the Bears’ rush defense. He complemented Goldman and the opponents’ rushing numbers took a big jump when he wasn’t there.

Iyiegbuniwe was the Bears’ fourth-round pick (115th overall) in 2018. He’s mostly played on special teams in his two seasons in Chicago. Just about all of his snaps played were on special teams. He’s played in on 644 snaps but only 26 of them on defense. Now he has an opportunity to be a fulltime backup and show that he belongs on that defense.

Woods signed with the Bears last year as an undrafted rookie. He played in nine games. He now gets an expanded role in the defense.

Hopefully, the starters stay healthy. The depth the Bears had last year is gone. What they now have are questions behind the starters. Yes, the backups could also be good, but we won’t know that until the games begin.