Chicago Bears release veteran TE Ben Braunecker Follow Kevin on Twitter @kfishbain, Ben Braunecker scored his first career touchdown against the Detroit Lions last November. Braunecker's season will come to a close with six receptions for 59 yards and one touchdown. It all makes sense and its something that we need to do so we dont overwhelm the healthcare system. Braunecker, who caught his first NFL touchdown last November before a concussion ended his season, talked to The Athletic from Arizona and offered his perspective on the new coronavirus. Couches, chairs, heavy chairs, desks. Hes working while hes not working. I have a lot of reservations thinking that OTAs and the offseason are going to happen. Braunecker wouldve been cut too, but he deserved to go after Shaheen. The Harvard graduate was a fun story in Chicago. Braunecker (concussion) won't play in Thursday's game against the Lions. Thomas from their practice squad to active roster. Most people were just curious. Braunecker sustained the concussion Week 12 against the Giants and didn't play versus the Lions on Thanksgiving Day. The Bears on Saturday elevated safety Adrian Colbert and cornerback Greg Stroman Jr. from the practice squad to the active roster in advance of Sunday's season finale against the Vikings. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. Finding household objects to lift up. He has two passions in life: football and infectious disease. In my opinion, if theres anything worthwhile to dedicate your entire life to, its something that has the ability to stop the world in its tracks. Ben Braunecker (born February 7, 1994) is a former American football tight end. [15], In 2018, Braunecker played in 15 games with two starts, recording three receptions for 42 yards and three special teams tackles. Im sure its near-impossible during the season when youre already studying up on a playbook and an opponent, but have you kept up with some of the things you were studying at Harvard? I ask because we could be entering a new normal where everyone is extra-focused on being clean. 210.65.88.143 The 26-year-old Braunecker, who played his college ball at Harvard, has been with the Chicago Bears since signing with the team as a undrafted free agent in 2016. After you take a break for nine months or however long the season is, you lose a lot of skills. The gyms here are closed as well as they are in Illinois. [18], Braunecker was released by the Bears on July 23, 2020. More News The 25-year-old will have to fully clear the protocol before returning to game action, putting his availability in doubt for Thursday's matchup with Dallas. Hes hard-working and has that never-give-up attitude that comes in handy in a league as competitive as the NFL. Come in your best western outfit! So if we have any questions, I go straight to him. Braunecker (concussion) was listed as a non-participant on Wednesday's practice report. This was just the second game all season in which he's caught a pass, making him a player who can't be trusted in fantasy lineups. Braunecker, a core special-teams player who's entering his fifth season with the Bears, has also made two appearances on WSCR 670 AM radio shows this week to share his knowledge. With the COVID-19 pandemic gripping the world, Braunecker has been fielding plenty of calls and texts from people in the NFL wanting to get his take. Powered by. Look: Mike Golic Reacts To His Daughter Getting Married - MSN Starter Trey Burton went on with a calf injury after making a painstakingly slow recovery from a groin injury. All picks and predictions are suggestions only. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. Educated to be a writer at the prestigious Columbia College in Chicago, Erik has spent the past 10 years covering the Bears. BIG BEN TV is a YouTube channel of Ghana's top entertainment and news site, that follows current affairs in Ghana and beyond. Braunecker likely will enter training camp below all three -- plus Adam Shaheen -- on the depth chart and may have a tough time making the Week 1 roster. One camp underestimated the harm that this new coronavirus could do and the other camp overestimated. And why not how many football players spend their offseasons working in a Harvard research lab or taking an immunology class simply to stay mentally fresh? What sort of blackmail material does he have that keeps him on this roster? #Bears released veteran TE Ben Braunecker. Hes played in just 47 games over his four seasons in the NFL and the most passes hes caught in a single season for Chicago is 6 in 2019. If you enjoy montages, commentaries, and gameplay, glitches, and other things, stick around. There are some pretty good-sized rocks out here. Ben Braunecker contract and salary cap details, including signing bonus, guaranteed salary, dead money, roster bonuses, and contract history. However, a recent announcement by Golics daughter Sydney that she just got engaged to Chicago Bears tight end Ben Braunecker will, as any father can tell you, is sure to brighten things up for him as he looks for a new job. I will start to do Minecraft videos now. The thing is Pace is way past delusional. Doing a lot of yoga, a lot of body-weight exercise right now. Chelsea can re-sign former player for 71m in the next transfer window. The interview has been edited for length and clarity. Braunecker put up career numbers with the Bears last season, logging six catches for 59 yards and his first touchdown across 11 games. Joined February 2016. A healthy scratch Week 10, Shaheen has been tending to a foot injury in the interim that is forcing a second consecutive DNP this weekend. I hope so. A couple months ago, people were saying, Well the flu kills 20,000 to 40,000 of people every year and nobodys talking about it. But as the cases doubled and everything went exponential, I began to see, wow, this is something pretty serious. Braunecker has sat out of every practice since sustaining a concussion during Week 12's win over the Giants, making it unlikely he plays Thursday against the Cowboys. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. Thankfully the lethality rate isnt higher, but still, I was shocked and I was one of those people whose minds had to be changed. Bears Begin Roster Cuts, Release Tight End Ben Braunecker Braunecker, who majored in molecular and cellular biology, would like to become a doctor specializing in infectious diseases when his football career is over. In fact, hes only been targeted 22 times in four years, so hes been pretty easy to miss. All Shaheen has to do is stay healthy. If he doesnt make the roster, it wont be from a lack of effort, just that the transition to the NFL level proved to be too much, but dont count Braunecker out. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. For average citizens, that was a new phrase to understand. Simmons has been one of the most polarizing athletes in recent memory because of how unique his career arc has been compared to most players considered to be All-Star level players. Do you look at it differently based on your educational background? When you visit any web site, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Performance & security by Cloudflare. I knew about it, but Ive never witnessed it in practice, especially on this scale. As a super-connected society as we are today, were very susceptible to transmissible or super-infectious pathogens. When asked about a post-football career, which is what you ask of a Harvard grad when he enters the league, the molecular and cell biology major said he wanted to be an infectious disease doctor. Bears re-sign TE Braunecker to 2-year contract - ESPN.com Ive tried doing that in-season, very minimally, and it really doesnt work that well. Itll always be a yes for you. Like his Facebook page or follow him onTwitter for more news and interaction. The Bears on Tuesday placed receiver Darnell Mooney and safety Eddie Jackson on injured reserve and promoted rookie safety A.J. Bears Cutting Ben Braunecker Proves Adam Shaheen Has Dirt On Someone Ben - YouTube Everybody seems to have an opinion about this so I pretty much try to avoid talking about it. Get the latest player news, stats, injury history and updates for Tight End Ben Braunecker of the Unsigned Free Agent on NBC Sports Edge. At your first press conference at rookie minicamp in 2016, everyone was pretty impressed to hear your goal of being an infectious disease doctor. Braunecker hasn't taken the first step (on-field work) in his journey through the concussion protocol, let alone progress enough to be considered for an evaluation in front of an independent neurologist. Braunecker caught two passes for 24 yards in the Bears' 16-14 victory over the Broncos on Sunday. With Adam Shaheen (foot) also absent from practice this week, the Bears are preparing to roll out J.P. Holtz, Jesper Horsted and Bradley Sowell at tight end in case neither Braunecker nor Shaheen are cleared in time. Ben Braunecker Contract Breakdowns, Salary Cap Figures, Salaries Are you teaching yourself or re-learning how to do certain activities to stay in shape? Ben Braunecker's Potential Could Go Unexplored Bears tight end Ben Braunecker started to show what he could do when given the chance to play more late last season and then suffered a. Ben Braunecker Draft and Combine Prospect Profile | NFL.com Braunecker has a bit of an uphill battle to make the final 53-man roster as an undrafted player from an FCS program, but he is fortunate to be joining a team with a lot of question marks at his . Were waiting on Harvard shirts as a group. Yeah, occasionally. The Bears released TE Ben Braunecker. The Bears on Friday placed CBs Jaylon Johnson and Kindle Vildor on injured reserve, activated RB Khalil Herbert and added CB Breon Borders, WR Nsima Webster and TE Chase Allen to the active roster. He caught eight passes for 87 yards and a score, but Holtz could have the edge, as he played in 14 games and started seven. Braunecker dropped a long pass that could have potentially been a touchdown, and as a result, he ended up with a quiet performance. Ben Braunecker - While the Bears have used Braunecker in-line at times, he's best suited at the U. Darion Clark - Clark hasn't played football since he was a high school quarterback, but at. (Photo: Rich Graessle / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images). Like Mike Golic, Ben Braunecker is a former NFL player. Braunecker talked about that fit (also according to Mayer): "I think a nice, strong, reliable Y tight end is what the Bears are looking for right now, so Im just very thankful to be given the opportunity as an undrafted free agent to come into a system and to work with coach Frank Smith, whos great in my first impression at giving me the tools and the opportunity to be able to step in and hopefully make the roster.". Harvard? Owen and his business partner join Sarah for an . Adam Shaheen (foot) will also be on the shelf, so J.P. Holtz, Jesper Horsted and Bradley Sowell will round out Chicago's tight-end corps. I havent heard anything from anybody in the Bears about when we could come back. Try a week on us. Chicago Bears tight end Ben Braunecker caught two passes for 24 yards in the team's 16-14 win over the Broncos in Week 2. Are you the type of person who pays a lot of attention to free agency? 15 Best Free Agent Acquisitions of All-Time, Franchise tag and transition tag windows open for Chicago Bears and NFL, How the Chicago Bears can control the running back market in 2023, The Chicago Bears can own the city of Chicago moving forward, Chicago Bears NFL Combine Preview: Quarterback, 7 best free agent tackle options for Chicago Bears. Braunecker is smart, but being he has a legitimate career in waiting doesnt mean hes any less motivated to make the Bears roster. Where are you at now in terms of your post-football career? Well, its all over the place right now. 1 role. Braunecker is the third Bears tight end to land on IR this season. I tell them all the time, I can give you my unprofessional, non-medical opinion, but really, seek info from the experts. Yeah, its been quite shocking, actually. The browser you are using is no longer supported on this site. It might bring some people joy or relief from everything thats going on to see the NFL still operating pretty rapidly. Braunecker is definitely a rookie for Bears fans to keep an eye on during the preseason this year, and there is a very good chance you will see him on the active roster at some point during the 2016 season, but if for whatever reason Braunecker doesnt spend his Sundays solving NFL defenses, hell spend it solving smallpox instead. They will be the focal point at tight end this season with Demetrius Harris contributing as a blocker. Im thankful that this isnt apocalyptic, but its still concerning and Im just hoping we can get through it with minimal lives lost and minimal damage to the economy. Braunecker got a spot start this past Sunday against the Giants, earning 71 percent of the offensive snaps and turning them into two catches (on four targets) for nine yards. Hes playing football and hes working on his doctor stuff. It does instill a little bit of a greater sense of purpose. This information might be about you, your preferences or your device and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to. Seemingly on pace for a third DNP in a row Sunday at Green Bay, he'll leave tight end in the hands of J.P Holtz and Jesper Horsted. Was that something you were pretty knowledgable about? Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings. Braunecker has earned his keep as a special teams player and blocker over his three years with the Bears, but he's logged just seven receptions for 83 yards across that stretch. All Rights Reserved. I have pretty much nothing to say on that. The offseason is the time to do that. Braunecker isnt the only one with this interest on the Bears linebacker Joel Iyiegbuniwe was pre-med at Western Kentucky and his father is an associate professor of public health at California State University San Marcos. As a return specialist, he had 29 kickoff returns for 1,005 yards, while on defense, he recorded 101 tackles and seven interceptions. Hes very motivated. Hes just the type of player that Pace and John Fox want on the roster. ! In 2016, the assembled media at Halas Hall met Ben Braunecker, an undrafted rookie tight end out of Harvard. He had high hopes for the young tight end back in 2017 and has expressed that same belief ever since. [3] He was projected by many analysts to be a fourth to sixth round draft selection. Horstead, who signed with the Bears as an undrafted rookie last season, played in six games for Chicago last year, starting one. The Bears on Wednesday claimed cornerback Michael Ojemudia off waivers from the Broncos and waived defensive end Taco Charlton. He sat there all weekend waiting for his name to get called, and when it didnt, it really got under his skin. The questions dont pop up too often because everyones so focused, but when they do, its almost a nice relief to me to bring what I know to the table and make myself useful. [4], Braunecker attended the NFL Combine and was the fastest in the 60-yard shuttle, was ranked second in the vertical leap, broad jump, three-cone drill and 20-yard shuttle and had the third-highest repetitions in the bench press of all tight ends. I know the Bears equipment staff takes cleanliness very seriously, but youre in a sport with a lot of close contact. Maybe a little bit more health- and I would just say sanitation-minded than your average football player, but I understand that, especially when youre young and a professional athlete, you have a healthy immune system, so you could fight off pretty much all the little bugs that try to get into you on a daily basis. Bears' Ben Braunecker: Won't face Packers - CBSSports.com When 100%, Burton is the . Bears 2020 Roster Breakdown: Ben Braunecker | TE Brooklyn Nets guard Ben Simmons remains the team's biggest question, according to an article published by Bleacher Report on Thursday. According to the Count's analysis of which prospects fared best, tight end Ben Braunecker was the standout performer. For more information, please read our Legal Disclaimer. The Bears on Tuesday placed rookie linebacker Jack Sanborn on injured reserve and signed veteran linebacker Elijah Lee off the Chiefs practice squad. The 26-year-old Braunecker, who played his college ball at Harvard, has been with the Chicago Bears since signing with the team as a undrafted free agent in 2016. CBS Sports is a registered trademark of CBS Broadcasting Inc. Commissioner.com is a registered trademark of CBS Interactive Inc. site: media | arena: nfl | pageType: profiles | How has this impacted your day-to-day routine for whatever youd normally be doing workout-wise in March? The Bears made a surprising cut Thursday. But, thats completely unofficial, nobodys told me anything. Login Here. Ben Braunecker Position: TE 6-3 , 247lb (190cm, 112kg) Born: February 7 in Ferdinand, IN (Age: 29-010d) College: Harvard Weighted Career AV (100-95-. Just to try to stay as scientifically literate as possible and refresh as much as I can. Parsons thinks the 26-year-old will eventually be bought out and spend the rest of his career making the league minimum. I follow the Bears and I hadnt ever heard of him before today. After his release, the Bears now have eight tight ends on the roster. The 26-year-old landed on injured reserve with a concussion in December, but before that, he put up career highs with six catches for 59 yards in 11 games while also catching his first career touchdown. Braunecker is definitely a rookie for Bears' fans to keep an eye on during the preseason this year, and there is a very good chance you will see him on the active roster at some point during the .