Mon, 04 Dec 2023

Roster Moves: Bears ink Scales, Blasingame to extensions

Chicago Bears
16 Mar 2023, 00:37 GMT+10

Larry Mayer

RELATED: Keep track of all the Bears' roster moves with ChicagoBears.com's Free Agency Tracker.

The Bears on Tuesday signed long-snapper Patrick Scales to a one-year contract extension and fullback Khari Blasingame to a two-year extension.

Both players were due to become unrestricted free agents at 3 p.m. (CT) Wednesday.

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The Bears on Tuesday also tendered offensive lineman Dieter Eiselen, an exclusive rights free agent, a one-year contract.

Scales remains the longest tenured Bears player, having appeared in 103 games over seven seasons.

He served as the team's long-snapper in the final five contests in 2015 and all 16 games in 2016 before missing the entire 2017 season with a torn ACL he sustained in the third preseason game. Scales has since returned to play in all 83 contests the past five seasons. He has recorded 14 special-teams tackles, including a career-high four stops each of the past two years.

Undrafted out of Utah State in 2011, Scales was cut five times by four different teams over three years before finally playing in his first NFL regular season game with the Ravens Dec. 21, 2014.

Blasingame originally signed with the Bears last year after spending his first three NFL seasons with the Titans. He appeared in 16 games with six starts, playing 174 snaps on offense and 215 on special teams. He was part of an offense that led the NFL in rushing (177.3 yards per game) and also recorded four special-teams tackles.

Blasingame entered the NFL with the Vikings in 2019 as an undrafted free agent from Vanderbilt. He spent the first two months of his rookie season on Minnesota's practice squad before being signed by the Titans. Appearing in 32 games with 13 starts for Tennessee, he caught 10 passes for 97 yards, rushed for six yards on three carries and served as a lead blocker for star running back Derrick Henry.

Eiselen originally signed with the Bears in 2020 as an undrafted free agent from Yale. The South African native has appeared in 14 games over the past three seasons, all as a reserve: one in 2020, two in 2021 and 11 in 2022.

Tuesday's roster moves leave the Bears with the following 20 unrestricted free agents and three restricted free agents:

Unrestricted

LB Matthew Adams

DT Angelo Blackson

QB Tim Boyle

S Dane Cruikshank

G Dakota Dozier

TE Ryan Griffin

WR N'Keal Harry

S DeAndre Houston-Carson

LB Elijah Lee

RB David Montgomery

LB Nicholas Morrow

DT Mike Pennel Jr

QB Nathan Peterman

WR Dante Pettis

WR Byron Pringle

G/T Riley Reiff

G/T Michael Schofield III

LB Joe Thomas

DT Armon Watts

TE Trevon Wesco

Restricted

CB Breon Borders

RB Darrynton Evans

C Sam Mustipher

Unrestricted free agents-players with at least four accrued seasons-can sign with other NFL teams without their original clubs receiving any compensation in return.

Restricted free agents-players with three accrued seasons-can sign an offer sheet with another NFL team, but their original club can match it or potentially receive draft pick compensation if they choose not to.

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