3 Players the Bears Will Regret Leaving Off the 53-Man Roster

3. Keith Randolph Jr., defensive line

The Chicago Bears have worked really hard to rebuild their defensive front in recent years, and because they've invested so much in the way of free agent capital and NFL Draft capital, it was always going to be hard for an undrafted free agent like Keith Randolph Jr. to make the squad.

And the Bears put him on the waiver wire, subjecting him to the rest of the league before potentially (hopefully) getting him back on the practice squad.

The tough part with an acquisition like Randolph is that people talk so highly of him after the draft as though the Bears landed an extra 4th or 5th-round pick, and the expectations start to rise dramatically. The Bears gave Randolph a lot of guaranteed cash after the draft to stay in Illinois after playing his college ball for the Fighting Illini in Champaign.

Giving $220,000 to an undrafted player isn't unheard of, but that is a relatively high figure and is more of a guarantee that you see going to some 6th-round draft choices. The Bears obviously felt like Randolph could make the roster and the money they gave him will certainly make him a more attractive player on the waiver wire, especially after he had 10 sacks and 23 tackles for loss in his college career.

The Bears recently made a trade with the Cleveland Browns to acquire defensive tackle Chris Williams, a move that likely ended up sealing Randolph's fate in terms of not making the initial 53-man roster.

The vision is still going to be there for a player like Randolph, and the Bears certainly haven't given up on him completely, but subjecting him to waivers means they could lose him and some team could poach him away. If that happens, the Bears might live to regret it.

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