Chicago Bears roster: Position group previews ahead of training camp
Chicago Bears Wide Receivers
The wide receivers corps and the quarterback go hand in hand. The Chicago Bears’ history of wide receivers is about as bad as their history of quarterbacks. People bemoan the fact that no Chicago Bears quarterback has ever eclipsed 4,000 passing yards in a season or that Jay Cutler is the career passing leader. Meanwhile, their career leader in receiving yards is Johnny Morris. The same Morris who retired from football in 1967.
The Bears had a struggling wide receivers corps last season. Now, some will say that the struggles at quarterback had a hand in that. While that may be true to an extent, it didn’t affect Allen Robinson. In 2020, he had finished with another season of over1,000 receiving yards. In fact, it was his second consecutive season he did that, becoming only the fifth Chicago Bears receiver to do so.
The second-leading receiver was rookie Darnell Mooney, who had just a dash more than half of Robinson’s total.
The Bears need to have more dependable receivers other than Robinson and Mooney. The coaches and fans are still waiting on Anthony Miller to finally build on his rookie season play. Since that rookie season, he’s been frustrating. Most people expected him to be traded or cut this offseason, but he’s still on the roster, hoping to reward the coaches for their faith in him.
In the offseason, the Bears signed Damiere Byrd and Marquise Goodwin through free agency. In the draft, they picked up Dazz Newsome. They also have Javon Wims and Riley Ridley returning.
If Wims and Ridley want to make the roster, though, each has to step up his game. Both players have played sparingly. With the new faces coming in, it’ll be tougher for them to make the team just to be a body on the roster.
One thing the Bears concentrated on was gaining speed. They have a lot more speed and that will help them break big plays (if the quarterback gets them the ball). With the big-play threat, the field opens up underneath for the tight ends and for Robinson. With more space for Robinson, he could easily pass his career-high of 1,400 receiving yards. Heck, he had 1,250 yards last season and the quarterback spot was a mess.
This time, however, Robinson should have better talent in the wide receivers’ room.