Preseason standout headlines 3 surprise players who survived the final cuts to land on the Bears initial 53-man roster

The Chicago Bears have trimmed the roster down to the initial 53-man roster and had to make some tough decisions along the way.

Plenty of players narrowly missed the cut to make it to the initial roster going into the regular season and some players were able to barely survive the cuts.

Here are three surprising players who made the Bears initial 53-man roster.

DL Daniel Hardy

Daniel Hardy was one of the best performers of the preseason for the Bears' defense and shined in multiple games, yet his job never seemed to be secure.

Following the final preseason game, the Bears front office went out to bring in former Seattle Seahawks edge rusher Darrell Taylor. The next day, head coach Matt Eberflus named dropped five players , including Taylor, the team will use in the rotation off the edge. Hardy's name was not mentioned in that list.

It was quite the shock and many began speculating whether Hardy would actually make the roster even though he totaled 14 pressures and 3.5 sacks in the preseason. At the end of the day, Hardy was able to make the cut. The biggest sway on the decision might have been veteran Jacob Martin landing on the short-term injured reserve. We'll see if Hardy can get more opportunities to make an impact in the regular season to prove his coaches right for keeping him around.

OL Doug Kramer Jr.

This was not the name I expected to see make the initial list on the offensive line, but Doug Kramer is still a worthy addition to the roster.

To determine the depth pieces on the offensive line, the Bears placed Larry Borom on the injured reserve and opted to waive Jake Curhan. This opened the door for Kramer to make the team as a backup up-front.

During the preseason, Kramer played 76 total offensive snaps, allowing zero pressures with one penalty. In those four games, he mainly aligned at center. Kramer's addition to the roster makes sense considering Ryan Bates, who was competition for the starting center job with Coleman Shelton, got injured late in camp with a "week-to-week" injury. Having Kramer on the roster gives the Bears some depth behind Shelton at the position until Bates is fully healthy.

CB Jaylon Jones

This ended up being a surprise at the cornerback position. The Bears ended up keeping six players in the room with Terell Smith, Josh Blackwell, and Jaylon Jones making the cut as the backups.

This led to Greg Stroman Jr. and undrafted rookie Reddy Steward being left off the team. This had to be one of the hardest decisions for the coaching staff to make.

However, for the third consecutive year, the former undrafted free agent has made the Bears initial roster. Jones has played 33 games and made four starts since joining the team in 2022 but his spot wasn't fully secure this season. He was able to compete for the job and lock it up anyways by showing up in practice and allowing just two receptions on six targets during the two games he played in the preseason.

Related: Meet the Chicago Bears initial 53-man roster following roster cuts