Chicago Bears Roster: 5 players Bears can’t afford to cut

The Chicago Bears cannot afford to cut inside linebacker Joel Iyiegbuniwe

Just when you thought the writing might have been on the wall for inside linebacker Joel Iyiegbuniwe, he came through with some impact plays on Saturday night. It was also pretty telling that guys like Christian Jones and Josh Woods seemed to play more snaps.

Iyiegbuniwe has offered the Bears special teams prowess for a few seasons now, but his impact has hardly ever been felt on defense. Against Tennessee, Iyiegbuniwe was all over the place.

At this point, you have to look at it this way. Iyiegbuniwe came into Saturday night on the roster bubble, needing a big performance. He did just enough to remind Bears coaches that he shouldn’t be cut just yet. However, it’s going to be tough because Alec Ogletree has also done enough to make this roster — as has Christian Jones.

The Bears also have Woods and undrafted free agent Caleb Johnson, who played lights out on Saturday night. Chicago is pretty deep at inside linebacker and will have difficult decisions going forward.

Iyiegbuniwe, though, shouldn’t be cut. He did enough to stick around and still knows the defensive system, as well as special teams.