https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1171885239649624064

Never heard of J.P. Holtz but the TE position was so bad last week that it makes sense to try something.  I hate to lose Abdullah because he seemed to play well and earned his spot over Bullard.  Hopefully he's back on the practice squad tomorrow.   

Holtz..he's big and slow but can catch so he is not a backup for Burton.  There is no way we're keeping 3 TEs of this type.  It's possible this is just a one week tryout and the Bears took advantage of the fact he had just been on the active roster.  I think that makes him easier to cut versus when you sign someone directly off a practice squad but I could be wrong.  

OTOH either Sowell or Shaheen is injured and can't play this week, or one of them is about to get released once Holtz is up to speed a bit on the offense.  

 

We claimed him on waivers.

If we had taken him from someone's practice squad then he'd need to be on our regular roster.

Not sure whether putting him on the active squad makes him easier to put on the PS and cut later.

My guess is that either Burton isn't healing OR Sowell blew his audition.

He looks to me as a poor man's version of Shaheen.  I say 'poor mans' because Shaheen cost the team a second round pick and Holtz cost next to nothing.  His college highlight film is pretty nice; appears to be a decent pass receiver from what they show.  He played at Pitt and we know not all TE's from Pitt are bad right?  Just ask Ditka.

Abdullah is now on our practice squad.  

Interesting move. I thought this was tied more to Dax Raymond being waived with injury settlement than anything else. So to make room for that transaction (bring to active roster), then next transaction, you have to have a subsequent move. So the Bears moved their 53rd guy (Abdullah), he cleared waivers, and then once Raymond was waived, they signed Holtz. I could be wrong, but I thought Raymond's transaction was involved.

15 hours ago, adam said:

Interesting move. I thought this was tied more to Dax Raymond being waived with injury settlement than anything else. So to make room for that transaction (bring to active roster), then next transaction, you have to have a subsequent move. So the Bears moved their 53rd guy (Abdullah), he cleared waivers, and then once Raymond was waived, they signed Holtz. I could be wrong, but I thought Raymond's transaction was involved.

Technically I think it was involved but we could have just moved to bring the new TE to the practice squad if we wanted him there.  

Just now, AZ54 said:

Technically I think it was involved but we could have just moved to bring the new TE to the practice squad if we wanted him there.  

exactly. Had we picked him off of someone's practice squad, then we would have had to get him on the 53 man roster, and then clear waivers to the practice squad.

in this case, he was already waived so no need to do that.

Nah, I was wrong.  Signing the new TE and moving Abdullah to the practice squad had nothing to do with Dax Raymond.  Preseason hero James Vaughters was let go off the PS to make room for Abdullah.  

 

https://www.windycitygridiron.com/2019/9/13/20864491/chicago-bears-sign-abdullah-anderson-to-the-practice-squad-release-james-vaughters-roster-j-p-holtz

11 hours ago, AZ54 said:

Nah, I was wrong.  Signing the new TE and moving Abdullah to the practice squad had nothing to do with Dax Raymond.  Preseason hero James Vaughters was let go off the PS to make room for Abdullah.  

 

https://www.windycitygridiron.com/2019/9/13/20864491/chicago-bears-sign-abdullah-anderson-to-the-practice-squad-release-james-vaughters-roster-j-p-holtz

Whoa, nice find, I liked Vaughters. They must like what they have at OLB.