As the Chicago Bears looked for a strong finish to their preseason Saturday night, their first offensive snap at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., certainly provided an encouraging tone-setter. Bold play call from coach Ben Johnson. Double move on the outside by rookie receiver Zavion Thomas. Terrific pass from quarterback Tyson Bagent.Eleven seconds and 97 yards later: touchdown.That’s one way to escape a backed-up predicament and jump-start a 24-15 victory.For Thomas, who has been banged up this month and didn’t play against either the Browns or Bengals, that first play from scrimmage was pretty unforgettable.Top Plays from Bears @ TitansQuipped Bagent: “I think that was Zavion Thomas’ very first play in the NFL. So, greatest start in NFL history.”Thomas, of course, didn’t need that touchdown or his 140 receiving yards or an electric 39-yard punt return to claim a spot on the Bears’ roster. As a third-round pick, his place was secure. Same for Bagent, who made an underdog leap to make the team as an undrafted rookie in 2023 but has been locked in as QB2 since.Still, the Bears had a pretty big puzzle to piece together Sunday, with general manager Ryan Poles grinding tape, meeting with players and even executing an attention-grabbing trade before submitting his initial 53-man roster to the league office ahead of the 5 p.m. deadline.Additional changes are probable over the next week or so with the Sept. 13 opener in Carolina closing in. Here’s a rundown of Sunday’s developments.The hot topicFirst things first: the return from Sunday’s trade sending defensive tackle Gervon Dexter to Atlanta seems OK on the surface, bringing the Bears an experienced cornerback in Clark Phillips, plus a fifth-round pick in April, to compensate for the loss of an interior lineman who made 33 starts over three seasons in Chicago.Phillips is on the smaller side — 5-foot-9, 185 pounds — and spent most of last season on injured reserve with a triceps injury. He has just seven career starts and one interception but should be a culture fit at Halas Hall with his passion for the game and aggressive play style. He has the versatility to play outside or in the slot and will likely need to assist on special teams.Dexter’s departure, meanwhile, feels like a bet on depth and development, with Poles and Johnson believing they have the requisite combination of talent and versatility in the defensive tackles room to withstand the loss of a 2023 second-round pick.The presence of ninth-year veteran Kentavius Street, coupled with the rapid emergence of rookie Jordan van den Berg, helped the Bears find confidence in their decision.Grady Jarrett was already locked in as a starter, with other interior rotation candidates now including Neville Gallimore and undrafted rookie Jayden Loving. (The Bears also plan to use Dayo Odeyingbo and, eventually, Shemar Stewart inside on obvious passing downs.)Just this week, Johnson referred to van den Berg, a sixth-round pick out of Georgia Tech, as a “beast.”“He’s still learning the game of football to a degree,” Johnson said. “Yet it’s amazing what he brings to the table. He’s been the same guy every single day. Smile on his face. Loves football. He loves the process.”Dexter, meanwhile, had been enthusiastic about technique improvements the coaching staff had helped him through this offseason, tweaking his stance to help him become more explosive and aggressive with his get-off. “One of the biggest improvements I’ve made coming into this year is just knocking the line of scrimmage back,” he said earlier this month.Dexter’s exit Sunday — along with the release of cornerback Terell Smith — leaves the Bears with four players from their 10-man 2023 draft class: offensive tackle Darnell Wright, cornerback Tyrique Stevenson, running back Roschon Johnson and linebacker Noah Sewell, though Sewell will begin the season on the physically unable to perform list.Cornerback Kyler Gordon’s status has been the mystery of the summer in Chicago. (Geoff Stellfox / Getty Images)Injury watchInjuries always complicate the forming of an initial roster, but the Bears had a few extra challenges this summer. One being the mysterious continued absence of cornerback Kyler Gordon.It’s not unusual for players to begin training camp on the physically unable to perform list. Ideally, they return to camp, like safety Elijah Hicks and linebacker Keyshaun Elliott did. But Gordon will now shift from the PUP/active to the PUP/reserve list, a roster machination that means he can’t play for at least four games — it used to be six until a rules change this past offseason.Clarity is still lacking on Gordon’s future. He had seven tackles and a sack in the Bears’ playoff loss to the Rams. His contract includes $10 million guaranteed for 2027. The waiting game continues, and the domino effect was felt during cuts weekend, as the Bears added a depth piece in Phillips after moving rookie Malik Muhammad to the slot.Teams can open a 21-day practice window for players on the PUP list as soon as after Week 2. This will also apply to defensive lineman Shemar Turner, who is recovering from a torn ACL. A second-round pick in 2025, Turner is supposed to be part of an improved Bears pass rush — the team liked what it saw from him at the end position before his injury. Instead, that wait continues.Since January, it was assumed that offensive tackle Ozzy Trapilo would begin his second season on some kind of reserve list, like PUP or IR. Instead, his incredible return to practice earlier this month allowed him to make the 53. He can now keep practicing and work his way back into team drills. By cutting Jedrick Wills and Kiran Amegadjie, the Bears may feel comfortable that Trapilo will be game-ready soon. Until then, Theo Benedet is the backup tackle.Sewell tore his Achilles tendon in the Week 17 loss to the 49ers last December and also shifted to the PUP reserve list.Safety Coby Bryant, whose injury has a four- to six-month timetable, is on the 53-man roster. He’ll likely move to injured reserve soon, and that will open up a roster spot. Cornerback Jaylon Jones, who injured his hamstring in the preseason finale, was placed on IR along with running back Brittan Brown, linebacker Tony Fields and wide receiver Ray-Ray McCloud.The Bears also released three players with an injury designation, which means if they clear waivers, they’ll revert to the team’s IR list: defensive backs Beanie Bishop and Dontae Manning and 2025 fourth-round linebacker Ruben Hyppolite.Underdog storiesThe initial 53-man roster includes four undrafted rookies: long snapper Beau Gardner, tight end Hayden Large, defensive tackle Jayden Loving and safety Skyler Thomas.Large, who missed his entire senior year of high school with a gruesome injury and wondered if he’d ever play football again, is one of the best stories of the 53. He went from NAIA to walk-on at Iowa to the Bears, but he also suffered an injury in Tuesday’s practice. He could wind up going to IR to make room for a signing.Loving entered training camp as maybe the sixth defensive tackle. The 6-1, 309-pounder who had some big plays against the Titans makes the roster after the Dexter trade. Thomas also had a productive camp and took advantage of his opportunities with all the injuries in the safeties room.Then there’s defensive end Jamree Kromah, who spent much of 2024-25 on the practice squad, and now he’s on the active roster. Kromah had three sacks and four tackles for loss in the preseason.Most notable cut(s)While they didn’t come as a massive surprise, the cuts of Amegadjie and Wills stuck out. Amegadjie is yet another third-round pick from this regime who didn’t make it. Injuries derailed Amegadjie’s career from the get-go. The front office always hung on to the promise he showed against the Commanders in 2024, but when Braxton Jones’ injury opened the door for Amegadjie, he failed to seize the job, let alone a roster spot. He has finally stayed healthy. We’ll see if the tape he put up in the preseason finale, when he played 47 snaps, is enough to get him claimed.Wills came to Chicago with the same skill set that got him drafted 10th overall, but similar to Amegadjie, Wills also had a chance to take the left tackle job, or solidify a backup spot, and failed to do so. Wills left the joint practice in Nashville with trainer Andre Tucker and was released with an injury settlement.Linebackers Jack Sanborn and Jon Rhattigan were key special teamers all summer long, and Sanborn ran with the first-team base defense while T.J. Edwards was sidelined. The Bears aren’t going to enter Week 1 with only four linebackers, so we could see one of those players return shortly.Wide receiver Kaden Davis was one of the best stories of camp with the catches he made, and fellow receiver Maurice Alexander had a strong finish to the summer. Both should be practice-squad candidates. The same goes for undrafted rookie guard Caden Bennett.Cornerback Terell Smith, a 2023 fifth-round pick, struggled mightily to stay healthy in his time as a Bear. He had two pass breakups in the final preseason game. We’ll see if that was enough for him to get claimed elsewhere or if he returns to the practice squad.The Bears also cut veteran defensive end Marcus Davenport. He was ramping up to be able to join practices, and it’d make sense that they still want to see what he could contribute. Johnson said the team had a plan for him, and this might have been part of it. The 14th pick of the 2018 draft, Davenport spent five years with defensive coordinator Dennis Allen in New Orleans.What’s next?With all 32 teams submitting their cuts Sunday, the waiver wire flea market is officially open. And, for the Bears, it will be worth browsing for potential depth chart upgrades.At a much different time in their roster-building efforts — and with a much higher spot in the waiver order — the Bears made a half-dozen claims on the first day after cuts in 2022, Poles’ first season as GM. (Josh Blackwell’s Halas Hall arrival came during that spree, one of the biggest waiver wire wins for the Bears in recent years.)Last year, the Bears claimed linebacker D’Marco Jackson and cornerback Jaylon Jones the day after roster cuts. In 2024, they went without a claim.This roster is in a stable place and the Bears are 25th in the league order. So claim activity figures to be minimal. Though they will certainly have some housekeeping to do with their injured reserve list.Additionally, the Bears have 16 practice-squad spots to distribute. Thus, for many players, Sunday’s rough news will come with a soft landing.Here’s a look at the Bears’ initial 53-man roster:Quarterbacks (3)Caleb Williams, Tyson Bagent, Case KeenumRunning backs (3)D’Andre Swift, Kyle Monangai, Roschon JohnsonWide receivers (5)Rome Odunze, Luther Burden III, Kalif Raymond, Zavion Thomas, Jahdae WalkerTight ends (4)Colston Loveland, Cole Kmet, Sam Roush, Hayden LargeOffensive linemen (10)Darnell Wright, Joe Thuney, Jonah Jackson, Garrett Bradbury, Braxton Jones, Logan Jones, Theo Benedet, Ozzy Trapilo, Jordan McFadden, Luke NewmanDefensive tackles (5)Grady Jarrett, Kentavius Street, Neville Gallimore, Jordan van den Berg, Jayden LovingDefensive ends (5)Montez Sweat, Austin Booker, Dayo Odeyingbo, Daniel Hardy, Jamree KromahLinebackers (4)T.J. Edwards, Devin Bush, D’Marco Jackson, Keyshaun ElliottCornerbacks (5)Jaylon Johnson, Tyrique Stevenson, Malik Muhammad, Josh Blackwell, Clark Phillips IIISafeties (6)Coby Bryant, Dillon Thieneman, Cam Lewis, Elijah Hicks, Xavier Woods, Skyler ThomasSpecialists (3)Cairo Santos, Tory Taylor, Beau Gardner