Chicago Bears 53-Man Roster Projection: Post-training camp edition

Linebackers

You want to talk about controversy? Look no further than the linebacking core. There are obvious starters here, but at one inside spot and one outside spot, who knows what will happen.

Starters: Sam Acho, Nick Kwiatkoski, Danny Trevathan, Leonard Floyd

Let’s get the obvious out of the way. Trevathan and Floyd are concrete in their starting roles. They aren’t going anywhere. It’s the other two spots that have people talking.

Right now, Acho looks like he’s the guy opposite of Floyd. However, it could be anyone’s game come the regular season. Kwiatkoski, meanwhile, has earned the right to start regardless of the current holdout situation by a certain former Georgia linebacker.

Others: Roquan Smith, Aaron Lynch, Kylie Fitts, Isaiah Irving, Joel Iyiegbuniwe

If either Fitts or Lynch perform well in the remaining preseason games, I wouldn’t be shocked to see one of them supplant Acho for the starting spot — heck, even Irving has looked fantastic for the most part. That second outside linebacker position is going to be one to watch down to the wire, because all of these guys (outside of Lynch, due to health) have looked the part at times.

As for Smith, nobody knows when this saga will end. It is truly up to him right now, because neither side seems to be budging. If Smith wants this to end and desires to be with his teammates, he will make it happen. Otherwise, Kwiatkoski should be a fine starter in his place.