The Bears have made a change at the quarterback position, cutting backup signal-caller Jimmy Clausen and elevating David Fales from their practice squad to the 53-man roster, the team announced today (Twitter link). Clausen will become a free agent if he passes through waivers unclaimed.
Clausen, 28, served primarily as the Bears’ backup signal-caller last year, getting a start in Week 17 when Marc Trestman wanted to see someone besides Jay Cutler lead the offense. Clausen re-signed with the club on a one-year deal back in March, and was forced into action again early in the season, when Cutler went down with an injury. In two games (one start), Clausen completed 23 of 40 passes for 184 yards and an interception.
According to Bears head coach John Fox, the club wanted to promote Fales to the active roster because he was receiving interest from at least one other team (Twitter link via Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune). By moving him from the practice squad to the 53-man roster, the Bears protect the young quarterback, avoiding the risk of losing him to another club.
It’s fair to wonder if the Ravens, who lost Joe Flacco for the season on Sunday, and employ Trestman as an offensive coordinator, were the team – or one of the teams – expressing interest in Fales. Now that Clausen is on waivers, it’s possible that the Trestman connection could come into play again, since Baltimore has a high waiver priority and is in the market for a backup to Matt Schaub.
It’s a shame Clausen can’t stick in the league, he was great at Notre dame
Clausen is garbage as a player…I hope he goes to the Ravens, Trestman put me through my 2 most embarrassing years as a Bears fan, and I remember Cade McNown