You can't win an NFL job in nine snaps, but you can certainly lose one. And the Chicago Bears' biggest loser from their first preseason game did just that. A 15-month tenure with the Bears and a connection to Caleb Williams aren't enough to make up for turning in an on-field dud when you're already on the roster bubble.
Clearing up some roster space with four moves on Tuesday afternoon, the Bears kicked wide receiver John Jackson to the curb. The timing of this move is noteworthy for a couple reasons. The obvious one is that it comes just a couple days after his 2025 preseason debut, but the other sends a much stronger message about Jackson.
The Bears have waived WR John Jackson, K Jonathan Kim and S Major Burns and have placed DB Shaun Wade on IR.
— Dan Wiederer (@danwiederer) August 12, 2025
Bears' Take Hard Stance by Waiving John Jackson
Jackson being waived at the beginning of preseason Week 2 sends a clear message — this move is specifically about his performance. It's not one of those "tough decision" cuts. Now that the deadline for preseason cuts has been consolidated into one single day, early-preseason releases aren't as strictly necessary.
Moving on from Jackson, ultimately, will have been an easy decision. While they brought the 2024 UDFA back on a reserve/future contract in January, his roster spot was always going to be precarious. He had almost no shot of making the 53-man roster in camp, and he was one of 12 receivers on the roster before being waived. Competition was stiff even for a practice squad spot.
So when his big preseason drop and 9-yards-on-4-targets statline confirmed for Bears coaches that he was out of that competition, there was no reason to keep him around. Freeing up the spot to bring a new body into camp was the obvious move. Even if a new signing is going to be a longshot to make an impact at this stage, at least there's some potential that they can bring more to the table.
Bears win yesterday if this is completed
— Dave (@dave_bfr) August 11, 2025
John Jackson gotta catch this pic.twitter.com/35OPfnrhdP
And as for that WR battle? Here's how things sit at the position for now.
Rome Odunze, D.J. Moore, Olamide Zaccheaus and Luther Burden are obviously making the 53-man roster. That leaves maybe one or two spots left, which Miles Boykin and Devin Duvernay are probably the veteran frontrunners for.
Behind them, Tyler Scott, Maurice Alexander, JP Richardson, Jahdae Walker and Samori Toure are all fighting it out to avoid following Jackson out the door. Among that group, PFF had Alexander (70.5) and Toure (62.6) graded out as the top wideouts against Miami. Scott (48.4) was the lowest-graded, though still sat well ahead of Jackson (36.3).