Chicago Bears: Predicting the final 53-man roster for 2021

Chicago Bears Outside Linebackers/EDGEs

Starters: Khalil Mack, Robert Quinn

Mack looks to remind people how great he is. He is so open to improving he took lessons from speedster Goodwin on how to get off the line quicker. That will really help him. Over the past two seasons, he’s had to fight through double and triple teams on his way to the backfield. Despite seeing a drop in his sack total, his quarterback pressures have gone up. He is just missing out on getting to the quarterback. If Goodwin’s lessons help, offensive linemen around the league have to watch out.

Quinn is looking for a bounce-back season. He had a terrible season last year and he admitted as much. He wants to put the memory of 2020 behind him and just think about this season. The coaching staff wants to help him with that. They have a game plan of possibly restricting the number of snaps he plays to keep him healthy throughout the season. Hopefully, that plan works and Quinn does bounce back.

Backups: Jeremiah Attaochu, Trevis Gipson

Attaochu will be an integral part of the plan to help Quinn. He’ll be splitting the snaps with Quinn. If he can do a good job it will go a long way to helping the defense. He has 23 career starts so he has experience in playing a larger number of snaps.

Gipson had such a great training camp and preseason that there are some who want the Bears to replace Quinn this season. That might not happen this season, but if Gipson plays well this season, he could be the starter next season. There is an out in Quinn’s contract after this season. If Quinn struggles again the Bears are sure to use it. Gipson is the future and that future could come sooner rather than later.