Several Chicago Bears Waiver Claims Were Coveted By Other Teams

One of the best signs that a team probably did a good thing is when other teams wanted to do that same thing. When the Chicago Bears drafted Velus Jones a few months back, GM Ryan Poles said he was contacted by several other teams expressing anger that he’d taken the receiver. He called it the “best feeling in the world.” Nothing is better than knowing you are a step ahead of your competition. So he must’ve had a similar feeling on Wednesday, August 31st.

That was when news came down of waiver wire claims. The Bears were the most active of any team in the league, securing six players in total. Most of the attention was paid to former 1st round pick Alex Leatherwood. Ironically Chicago was the only team to claim him. This wasn’t the case for several of their other acquisitions. According to Field Yates of ESPN, three of the other players they landed were coveted by other teams.

8 players had multiple teams put in claims on them yesterday:

-Trevon Wesco: CLE, CHI, IND, CIN
-Sterling Weatherford: CHI, NO
-Kellen Mond: PHI, CLE
-Nick McCloud: NYG, CHI
-Kingsley Jonathan: NYG, CHI
-Darryl Johnson: NYG, SEA
-Jamycal Hasty: NYG, JAX
-Jack Anderson: ATL, NYG

— Field Yates (@FieldYates) September 1, 2022

Chicago Bears came away with some substantial additions.

Trevon Wesco isn’t a traditional tight end in modern NFL circumstances. Nobody would accuse him of being a receiving threat. His value lies in his blocking skills. The Bears needed more of that after a rough preseason from their tight ends. Kingsley Jonathan was a solid defensive end at Syracuse. He has good burst, strong balance, and shows violent hands. He’d have been drafted if he were a bit bigger and stronger.

The best addition might be Sterling Weatherford. He was a terror at linebacker in the preseason, with 18 tackles and an interception. Even more terrifying is that was the first real action he’d seen at the position. He was a safety in college. There is untapped potential there. If the New Orleans Saints saw it, the Chicago Bears made the right call. The Saints’ front office has a strong eye for linebacker talent.

There is a strong likelihood that at least one of those players will be a big help to the Bears this year. If they become something more, then even better. It will make the memory of stealing them from other teams all the sweeter.