Chicago Bears: McCown and Allen Released, Clutts Traded and Return of Okoye
Published by Matt Eurich on August 31, 2012
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears
Last night’s preseason finale saw both Josh McCown and Armando Allen excel when given their chance to start but their strong performances were not enough to sway the organization into keeping them. McCown and Allen were both released today ahead of the 53-man roster deadline this evening (h/t the Chicago Sun-Times).
McCown had himself a strong game last night going 16 of 20 with two touchdowns while Allen made the most of his opportunities rushing for 83 yards and catching five balls for 51 yards.
With the release of McCown, it appears the Bears are willing to enter the regular season with just two quarterbacks on the active roster. Rumors have been swirling that the Bears will attempt to re-sign Matt Blanchard to the practice squad after Blanchard was waived last week.
Allen’s departure means the Bears appear to be moving forward with Lorenzo Booker as their third running back. Booker and Allen put up similar numbers this preseason but Booker’s return abilities likely gave him the upper hand.
The Bears didn’t stop after the release of McCown and Allen. The Chicago Tribune‘s Vaughn McClure reports the Bears have also waived wide receiver Brittan Golden, cornerback Cornelius Brown, safety Mark LeGree, linebacker Xavier Adibi and seventh-round draft pick Greg McCoy. According to McClure, it appears that the Bears will waive wide receiver Joe Anderson and linebacker Jabara Williams with the intention of signing both to the practice squad.
All camp long, the talk had been whether or not the Bears would keep a fullback given the fact that offensive coordinator Mike Tice has not been involved in a system that utilized the position (h/t the Chicago Sun-Times). The Bears traded fullback Tyler Clutts to the Houston Texans for former fifth-round pick, cornerback Sherrick McManis. McManis will help fill a void on special teams left by Corey Graham who left in the offseason.
Clutts’ trade opens the possibility for the Bears to likely keep four tight ends on the roster. Tice has utilized both Kyle Adams and Evan Rodriguez in H-back rolls this preseason and could use Matt Spaeth as a blocking back on running plays.
Despite all of the cuts going on at Halas Hall today, the Chicago Sun-Times reports the Bears did bring in former defensive tackle Amobi Okoye who left Chicago for Tampa Bay after last season. Okoye has missed the last three preseason games with Tampa while recovering from a knee scope in June. As long as Okoye can pass a physical, he will reclaim a spot in the defensive rotation that sorely needs to find some production.
The cuts so far today are just the tip of the iceberg for the Bears with them having to trim the 75-man roster they entered the day with down to 53. The roster deadline is 9 p.m. this evening.
Matt Eurich is a contributor to Bearsbacker.com. Follow Bears Backer on Facebook andTwitter for up to the minute news about the Bears. Also, check out Matt’s work on Bleacherreport.com and follow him on Twitter @MattEurich.
Read more Chicago Bears news on BleacherReport.com
