The Bears made a surprising move with their first gameday roster of the year. Second-year wide receiver Tyler Scott was rendered inactive on Sunday, meaning Velus Jones Jr. and DeAndre Carter will be the only wide receivers available behind Keenan Allen, DJ Moore and Rome Odunze.
Scott was presumed to be the No. 4 wide receiver on the team coming out of training camp. Throughout the summer he showed improved route running and catching abilities. Scott and rookie quarterback Caleb Williams also developed a rapport on deep passes at practice.
The Bears likely opted for Jones Jr. and Carter over Scott because of their special teams contributions. Each man is expected to work as a returner in the third phase, and Scott is not a core special teams player.
Running back Roschon Johnson is also inactive, but that move was less surprising since Johnson missed a significant portion of the summer with a toe injury. Johnson was able to practice in full on Friday and did not carry an injury designation in the weekend, however. The Bears have also used Jones Jr. as a running back in training camp, so he could be viewed as a fourth RB in addition to a fourth or fifth WR.
Defensive linemen Zacch Pickens and Dominique Robinson also did not receive a jersey for Week 1. Pickens has nursed a groin injury throughout the offseason and was ruled out of Sunday’s game earlier in the week. Robinson is likely just the odd man out among the Bears’ group of edge rushers.
It’s a similar story with offensive linemen Kiran Amegadjie and Bill Murray. Amegadjie got a late start to training camp as his recovery from a quad injury took longer than expected. Murray figures to be the last man in line on the interior OL rotation.
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