The Chicago Bears under new head coach Ben Johnson are battling for their first playoff berth in five years, and what would be only their third since 2010, but they will need to take full advantage of their matchup with the struggling New York Giants and rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart Sunday to keep their hopes alive.
Heading into the showdown at Soldier Field, which will be televised to most of the country as the Fox Sports featured game Sunday’s early time slot, the Bears made a few shuffles to their roster on Saturday, less than 24 hours before kickoff.
The Bears have won five of their last six games after a potentially crushing start to the season, when they opened by losing to a pair of NFC North divisional rivals â the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions â back to back.
But Chicago has recovered from the potentially disastrous start to rise to 5-3 by feasting on sub-.500 teams. In fact, of their first eight opponents, the only one with a winning record heading into Week 10 is Detroit. Even the Baltimore Ravens, who defeated the Bears in 30-16 in Week 8, are only 3-5 at this point.
Bears Hand Walking Papers to Free Agent WR
In the Giants, the Bears face another subpar opponent who come into the game with only two wins in their first nine. With Chicago occupying the No. 8 seed in the NFC, the Bears need a win to stay in the playoff hunt, especially with two divisional losses already on their ledger.
With that in mind, the Bears continued to fine-tune their roster, and among the moves Saturday they released an offseason free agent acquisition who signed a one-year, $1.2 million contract in April, only to spend the season on the practice squad, not seeing a single snap in the regular season.
In April, the Bears signed local product Miles Boykin, a wide receiver who attended Providence Catholic High School in New Lenox, a suburb about 40 miles southwest of Chicago. Boykin then went on to Notre Dame where he caught 77 passes for 1,206 yards in three seasons.
The Ravens made Boykin their third-round draft pick, 93rd overall, in 2019.
Predicted to Beat Out Bears Own 4th-Rounder
“He had a nice start to his career, totaling 464 yards and seven touchdowns his first two years. Since then, however, Boykin has failed to make much of an impact in the pros,” wrote Brendan Sugrue of USA Today Bears Wire. “Boykin spent the 2022 and 2023 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers and was on the Seattle Seahawks practice squad for the majority of the 2024 season.”
Boykin was looking for a fresh start with the Bears, who appeared to have the same goals in mind for him. In training camp, the 29-year-old Boykin was widely predicted to beat out Chicago’s own 2023 fourth-round pick Tyler Scott for a spot in the wide receiver room.
Boykin Cut For 2nd Time This Season
Scott was, indeed, cut from the Bears roster on August 26, and has since bounced from the Indianapolis Colts to the Seattle Seahawks to his current organization, the Los Angeles Rams all without seeing a single snap.
Meanwhile, Boykin’s fate hasn’t been much better. Cut by the Bears out of camp, the seven-year veteran was quickly re-signed to the practice squad but never received a call-up to the active roster.
On Saturday, Chicago said goodbye to Boykin again, for good this time apparently, and “now that he’s been cut, he’ll look to join a team in need of wide receiver depth and a contributor on special teams,” according to CBS Sports.
Boykin last saw NFL action in 2023 with the Steelers.
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