The Bears have placed starting center Lucas Patrick on injured reserve, ending his 2023 NFL season a day early. Obviously, this doesn’t mean much as Patrick will only miss one game and Chicago is already mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. The move is a common one seen this week as many teams will utilize IR to help lock promising practice squad players down on active roster contracts.

For the Bears, that player seems to be practice squad cornerback Greg Stroman. With Patrick vacating a spot on the active roster, Stroman has signed to the 53-man squad for this week. In two years with the Bears, Stroman has appeared in nine games, making two starts. In each of those two starts, Stroman has recorded an interception. With Stroman now on the active roster, Chicago will have an opportunity to keep him away from free agency in the offseason, essentially guaranteeing him another year with the Bears, if that’s what they agree to.

With Patrick unavailable, practice squad center Doug Kramer has been called up as a standard gameday elevation to provide some depth on the interior offensive line. Joining Kramer as a one-week elevation will be cornerback Christian Matthew.