The Chicago Bears made few noteworthy moves ahead of Tuesday's roster deadline, locking in the expected pieces for what should be an exciting 2025 run. It is hard to find much to complain about with all of the expected decisions being made finalizing the first 53-man roster. However, there is one depth move that could come back to haunt the Bears later this season. Cutting experienced corner Tre Flowers deserves a bit of an eyebrow raise.
Despite being a late camp addition, the veteran wasted no time demonstrating a high level of intensity and physicality. It helped set the tone, even if the level of physicality wasn't always welcome against smaller targets. It isn't just the tone setting that makes Flowers valuable, but the experience in a myriad of roles.
Flowers has spent time both as a depth and special teams piece and in a starting defensive lineup. While there isn't a terribly high ceiling, it is at least a proven commodity compared to the options at the bottom of the current Bears' depth chart. The corner should've been kept just a bit longer as insurance for a roster that could use more veterans as it attempts to turn the corner.
The Bears Made a Mistake Cutting Depth Corner Tre Flowers
The obvious counter to this is pointing out that Flowers' experience isn't exactly littered with wins. After starting his career with the Seattle Seahawks, the defender has bounced to the Bengals, Falcons, Jaguars, and Colts in a very short time. Each franchise quickly found an answer they felt better about moving forward. Flowers is just good enough to be veteran depth or a short-term solution, but not a player you want to build around.
With this in mind, Chicago's outlook on the decision can be understood even if it isn't the ideal choice. Putting Flowers at the bottom of the roster and using the defender as a key special teams piece would've been the best option. Still, the Bears' roster looks greatly improved compared to a season ago. It is clear that the biggest improvement has come in the trenches.
This was Ben Johnson's obvious focus after taking over the franchise, needing to shuffle the offensive and defensive lines ot have a chance to return to contention. The Bears' final roster illustrates this improvement and appears to have set the team up for its first meaningful season in far too long.