The Bears waived a pair of defensive reserves on Tuesday, releasing cornerback Isaiah Frey and defensive end David Bass, according to the NFL’s transactions.
The 24-year-old Frey made six tackles and forced and recovered a fumble in Chicago’s 31-24 loss at Carolina on Sunday, playing 24 snaps on defense and 11 on special teams. He has appeared in 19 regular season games in the last two seasons for Chicago, recording 54 tackles.
Bass has played in one game for Chicago this season. The 24-year-old defensive end was active but did not play against Carolina.
The Bears filled one of the open roster spots by promoting rookie cornerback Al Louis-Jean from the practice squad. Louis-Jean (6-1, 200) notched eight tackles in four exhibition games for Chicago and had spent the regular season on their practice roster.
Louis-Jean, who played collegiately at Boston College, is one of six cornerbacks on the Bears’ 53-player roster, with Kyle Fuller and Tim Jennings the starters and Demontre Hurst, Sherrick McManis and Teddy Williams also in reserve. And with Frey departing, there is playing time to be had in “sub” packages. Frey had played 95 snaps in the last three games, according to Pro Football Focus.