Khari Blasingame, a former star player at Buckhorn High School, is returning to the Chicago Bears for his third season.

Blasingame was cut by the Bears on Tuesday when they cut down their preseason roster to the 53 players who can participate in the regular season. However, Chicago confirmed that long snapper Patrick Scales has been re-signed for the active roster after placing him on injured reserve on Wednesday.

Blasingame was on the field for 186 offensive snaps and 210 special teams plays during the previous season, where he participated in 16 games with two starts. On eight carries, he gained 26 yards of running and 2 yards of receiving on three throws.

To play safety, Blasingame transferred from his high school in New Market to Vanderbilt. He played running back for his final three seasons before switching to linebacker.

In 2019, Blasingame signed as an undrafted rookie with the Minnesota Vikings to begin his NFL career.

With six games remaining in the 2019 season, Blasingame was signed by the Tennessee Titans to the active roster after serving as a member of the Vikings practice squad during his first season.

After spending the following two seasons in Tennessee, Blasingame was in front of Derrick Henry in 2020, when the former All-American from Alabama became the seventh player in NFL history to carry for 2,000 yards in a single season.

In 2022, Blasingame became a free agent and joined with Chicago.

He has participated in 64 regular-season and five postseason games in his NFL career. He has 11 running attempts for 32 yards and 13 receptions for 99 yards.

Four members of the Chicago Bears practice squad are probably going to play.

The 53-man roster for the Chicago Bears is established, but as every fan knows, it’s never finalized or official. It will keep moving as long as performance and injuries allow. Thus, there are still many opportunities for the players that join the team on the practice squad to make the active roster. Who are the four players who have the most chance of playing?

1. Robert Sampson

This one is essentially deceptive. Sam Roberts will eventually be on the active roster of the Chicago Bears; that much is said rather than predicted.

Roberts passed waivers and was signed by the Bears following his release from the New England Patriots. Roberts must have lost favor with the new coaching staff because he was selected by the Patriots in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL Draft.

Former Patriots DL Sam Roberts is signing to the Bears practice squad with the intention of being called up for Week 1, per source.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 28, 2024

He played in seven games, including one start, for the Patriots last season after putting in little time as a rookie. Compared to Michael Dwumfour and Byron Cowart, who were both cut by the team, he has more experience.

But Zacch Pickens must be the reason behind the Bears’ plan to mention Roberts. Pickens hasn’t practiced since suffering a knock in the preseason finale. Even though he might not be sidelined for long, the organization decided to trade for Chris Williams and sign Sam Roberts because of his unfavorable first-week status. The roster for week one need to include both.

2. Steward Reddy

Reddy Steward was a popular choice among Bears supporters to start on the 53-man roster. Troy’s UDFA had a fantastic summer, but he remains just that—a UDFA. Teams had already passed him over numerous times, and they did so once more when he returned to the team after clearing waivers.

In actuality, it is difficult to justify having Steward on the roster as their third slot cornerback. The Bears are aware that they need depth in the slot, therefore they want to keep it.

Josh Blackwell and Kyler Gordon both missed time last season, so the Bears relied on Greg Stroman in the slot. Steward was chosen for the practice squad this offseason after beating out Stroman, and he will be called up if this occurs once again.

3. Curhan Jake

To put it mildly, the Chicago Bears’ tackle depth is limited and dubious. On both sides, Kiran Amegadjie is the current backup, but they have their two starters. That’s the Yale third-round rookie who was a bit raw out of college and didn’t play a snap in the preseason.

The Bears may want to call up Jake Curhan prior to the first week, but they will need to make some roster adjustments. Would they honestly rather see Braxton Jones get hurt, then start Amegadjie on the field for the first time in his career against seasoned NFL veterans in the middle of a game while he’s chilly, two weeks after the injury? Heck, just picture him having to play right tackle because of an injury to Darnell Wright. He had never before played that side.

Matt Pryor, a guard with little tackle experience, might make the play in a pinch, but the circumstances point to Curhan being added to the roster. It is difficult to imagine the team wanting anyone other than Curhan to fill that role at this time if Darnell Wright is hurt this season.

4. Baskerville, Micah

Another athlete who might have fit within the 54–59 range on the roster in the end is Micah Baskerville. The math simply did not work out for him. Still, the UDFA was called up as a rookie and is currently in his second season with the Bears. Thus, there’s a good probability he’ll be called up again.

He is on the roster in case any of the five linebackers are hurt. Furthermore, because of his usefulness to special teams, he might be called up. Last season, Baskerville made two appearances for Chicago as a special team member, performing admirably in the preseason.

For players who might not play the same role on special teams, the Bears have set aside a few more spaces. As a result, there can be some ups and downs throughout the season that result in Baskerville playing in the regular season for the second consecutive year.