Before settling down at BroBible, Douglas Charles, a graduate of the University of Iowa (Go Hawks), owned and operated a wide assortment of websites. The 25-year-old will play a depth role behind Trey Burton (groin) and Adam Shaheen in 2019. Were waiting on Harvard shirts as a group. READ NEXT: If NFL Season is Cancelled, Bears Could Snag Top QB Prospect in 2021. Braunecker started 11 games for the Bears last season, and was one of nine tight ends in a crowded tight ends room. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. This does save nearly $1.5M of cap space. It might bring some people joy or relief from everything thats going on to see the NFL still operating pretty rapidly. Sometimes I guess Im seen as the resident scientist on the Bears. Braunecker was pegged by most draft experts to go in the fourth or fifth round of the NFL draft. For the third consecutive week, Braunecker isn't taking the field due to a concussion. Everyone fell into two camps. Braunecker is still working through the league's concussion protocol and will miss a third straight game. I usually use the offseason to take some time to get away and not pay attention to whats going on in the football world daily, but its been a pretty memorable offseason. If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site, and will not be able to monitor its performance. Veterans Jimmy Graham and Demetrius Harris, second-round draft pick Cole Kmet, former second-round pick Adam Shaheen, J.P. Holtz, Jesper Horsted, Eric Saubert and the undrafted Darion Clark are now the remaining tight ends. Its an unprecedented time. 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. [19], Braunecker is married to former University of Notre Dame swimmer Sydney Golic; she is the daughter of former NFL player Mike Golic.[20]. The 6-foot-4 Braunecker made three starts for the Bears last season, including the playoff loss to Philadelphia . Braunecker emerged from Week 12 with a concussion, which hasn't allowed him to practice in the interim. Shaheens window passed the moment the Bears handed $16 million to Jimmy Graham and spent a 2nd round pick on Cole Kmet. Cloudflare Ray ID: 7a2e1f111c532f50 You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. It has become a running joke in the league to comment on the ber-crowded tight ends room in Chicago, but the room is getting less and less crowded by the minute. Meanwhile, Trey Burton (calf) was placed on IR last Saturday, leaving TE reps up for grabs. 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. Just stay healthy and people will see. Im driven to make this team and Im really thankful the Bears gave me an opportunity.". Login Here. Those work pretty well. The last time that Simmons has played for Brooklyn was Feb . 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 . 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. [3] He was projected by many analysts to be a fourth to sixth round draft selection. Come in your best western outfit! Getty 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. Most people were just curious. With Chicago running many formations of multiple tight ends, Braunecker saw three targets while Trey Burton was eased back into the lineup as he recovers from offseason groin surgery. What kind of objects have you found to be helpful? 1 role. How have you read about coronavirus or consumed the news about it? Is it going to be that bad? Its been interesting. Yeah, occasionally. For average citizens, that was a new phrase to understand. ! With only one legitimate tight end on the roster in Zach Miller (and all his previous injuries in tow), the Bears give Braunecker not only a great chance to make the team, but a chance to contribute as well. The previous two Ive taken online classes one in exercise physiology, one in immunology and one in stem cell regenerative biology. He was signed by the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2016, and played for the team through 2019. [18], Braunecker was released by the Bears on July 23, 2020. The Harvard product joined the Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2016, and he proceeded to spend four years with the organization. 2023 Minute Media - All Rights Reserved. However, with expectations that teams will have to start moving from 90 players to 80 before camp, the team chose to part ways with Ben Braunecker. 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 already has his back-up plan in place if his football career doesnt pan out- hes going to go to medical school to study disease. All rights reserved. He caught six passes for 59 yards and a touchdown last year. Its just closed indefinitely. Kevin Fishbain is a staff writer for The Athletic covering the Chicago Bears. On October 1, 2016, he was promoted to the active roster and was officially named the Bears' third tight end on their depth chart behind veterans Miller and Paulsen. In his high school career, Braunecker recorded 51 receptions for 1,254 yards and 16 touchdowns. I know the Bears equipment staff takes cleanliness very seriously, but youre in a sport with a lot of close contact. If youve never heard of Ben Braunecker, youre probably not alone. However, blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. 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. Simpson trial of the 1990s or the murder case levied against Robert Blake in the early 2000s. Braunecker will find it difficult to get through the concussion protocol and play Thursday in Detroit, so the Bears may be down to J.P. Holtz, Jesper Horsted and Bradley Sowell at tight end Week 13. I ask because its been a weird week where everything is shut down, except for the NFL. The Bears on Wednesday claimed cornerback Michael Ojemudia off waivers from the Broncos and waived defensive end Taco Charlton. Braunecker (concussion) won't play in Thursday's game against the Lions. He has two passions in life: football and infectious disease. Braunecker hauled in one pass for eight yards in the Bears' 17-7 loss to the Rams on Sunday. Harvard? You cant really go to any gym and lift weights. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. His absence leaves Jesper Horsted and J.P. Holtz as the top tight ends in Chicago. People ask me my take on anything in medicine or science. On the plus side, hes still signed to play in 2020 for Chicago despite the fact that hes not even listed as one of the top four tight ends on the teams depth chart. Youre really just trying anything. They were dating for quite some time before getting engaged in 2020, and they are now happily married. BroBible is the #1 place on the internet for the very best content from the worlds of sports, culture, gear, high tech, and more. Already Subscribed? Ben Braunecker 's tenure with the Bears has come to an end. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. Maybe not this fast though. The browser you are using is no longer supported on this site. Lasting four seasons in this capacity on the same team is a pretty impressive achievement. But there is an added twist this year with everything being shut down and quarantines happening. Its the brainiac, former Bears tight end Zach Miller said that spring. Doing a lot of yoga, a lot of body-weight exercise right now. The Chicago Bears have begun thinning out their roster, and they have just released veteran tight end Ben Braunecker, who has been with the team since 2016. As Burton sees an increase in playing time, Braunecker will become the Bears' third-string tight end, which likely won't carry much fantasy value. Were not shy. I knew about it, but Ive never witnessed it in practice, especially on this scale. I hope so. Starter Trey Burton went on with a calf injury after making a painstakingly slow recovery from a groin injury. 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. Sadly the failures of the 2019 season and the COVID-19 realities ended his tenure. 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. [11] He made his first NFL start against the Green Bay Packers on October 20. 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. [13][14] He was promoted to the active roster on November 7, 2017. As a super-connected society as we are today, were very susceptible to transmissible or super-infectious pathogens. Ben's a familiar face to soap fans! Last year Braunecker played in 11 games with three starts, recording six receptions for 59 yards and his first NFL touchdown. The defamation case between Johnny Depp and his ex-wife Amber Heard was one of the most watched celebrity legal battles ever since the O.J. [10] Going into the regular season, he was the Bears' third option at tight end, behind Zach Miller and Logan Paulsen. The official source for NFL news, video highlights, fantasy football, game-day coverage, schedules, stats, scores and more. 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. As someone who knows the biology behind it, is it something youre more cognizant of than others? The action you just performed triggered the security solution. Everybody always compared it to the flu. Copyright 2008-2023 BroBible. Braunecker (concussion) didn't practice Thursday. These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. [7], He entered training camp battling for a backup tight end position with Khari Lee, Tony Moeaki, Rob Housler, and Greg Scruggs. Braunecker now has a total of 10 receptions in 45 games. He started for three years and was team captain for his senior year. ANALYSIS. Just getting really creative with workouts to stay in shape and keep your strength up. [17] On November 10, 2019, he scored his first career NFL touchdown on an 18-yard touchdown pass from Mitchell Trubisky against the Detroit Lions. 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. Braunecker is still in the concussion protocol and didn't practice Monday, Jason Lieser of the Chicago Sun-Times reports. 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. 100 Following. He'll miss his second consecutive contest as a result, leaving J.P. Holtz, Jesper Horsted, Bradley Sowell and Eric Saubert as the Bears' available tight ends. He can still be that legitimate weapon everybody envisioned. It all makes sense and its something that we need to do so we dont overwhelm the healthcare system. He was also named first-team All-Ivy League when he recorded 48 catches for 850 yards and eight touchdowns. So its been a pretty terrible, no good year for the former nose tackle. 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. So that begs the question. 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. With the Bears scaling down their offensive game plan and starter Trey Burton playing limited snaps, Braunecker came through with some key catches. On the season, there hasn't been a Bears tight end to reach 20 yards in a game, making Braunecker and the rest of Chicago's TE corps a weak fantasy option. It could also very well come down to which of the two can be the more effective contributor on special teams, though. Hes been with the team since 2016. Since arriving in Chicago as an undrafted free agent from Harvard in 2016, Braunecker has appeared in 47 games with seven starts over four seasons, catching 13 passes for 142 yards and one touchdown while also regularly contributing on special teams. 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.". There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. Nothing will be easy for Braunecker, but he is definitely up for the challenge. At your first press conference at rookie minicamp in 2016, everyone was pretty impressed to hear your goal of being an infectious disease doctor. Its dominating our daily lives right now so you cant really sidestep it too much. Are you teaching yourself or re-learning how to do certain activities to stay in shape? These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. I know I want to get into medicine and do research more than clinical work. Braunecker (concussion) was listed as a non-participant on Wednesday's practice report. Braunecker, who majored in molecular and cellular biology, would like to become a doctor specializing in infectious diseases when his football career is over. 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. Ben Braunecker (born February 7, 1994) is a former American football tight end. Braunecker (concussion) remains in the mix among the nine tight ends on Chicago's roster heading into training camp, Mike McGraw of the Chicago Daily Herald reports. Like Mike Golic, Ben Braunecker is a former NFL player. His absence leaves Jesper Horsted and J.P. Holtz as the top tight ends in Chicago. Yeah, I mean, its huge. Since arriving in Chicago as an undrafted free agent from Harvard in 2016, Braunecker has appeared in 47 games with seven starts over four seasons, catching 13 passes for 142 yards and one touchdown while also regularly contributing on special teams. (Laughs). Despite having showcased a step forward in his development,. He was also honored on the College Sports Madness All-America first-team and the InstantScouting FCS All-America team. Hes playing football and hes working on his doctor stuff. The Bears on Saturday elevated running back Darrynton Evans from the practice squad to the active roster in advance of Sunday's game in Atlanta. Braunecker got most of them this past Sunday versus the Rams, earning a 66 percent share of the offensive snaps on his way to one catch (on three targets) for eight yards. Braunecker struggled with a severe ankle injury during the 2016 offseason and missed the entire preseason. [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. 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. Understandable, I guess. That is the only explanation that makes sense anymore. 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. It seems like every year bigger and bigger names keep making these career-transforming moves at an accelerated rate, so its interesting every year. Educated to be a writer at the prestigious Columbia College in Chicago, Erik has spent the past 10 years covering the Bears. As long as Braunecker is sidelined, expect J.P. Holtz and Jesper Horsted to split tight end reps for the Bears. This can only be called pure favoritism on the part of GM Ryan Pace. With Ben Braunecker's touchdown catch, the Bears tight ends now have 1 for the season. Oh, absolutely. Hes working while hes not working. Braunecker caught two passes for 24 yards in the Bears' 16-14 victory over the Broncos on Sunday. [8] He was released on September 3,[9] but was signed to the practice squad the following day. Braunecker was acquired as an undrafted free agent by the Chicago Bears in 2016 and played for them until 2019. When 100%, Burton is the . Harvard won 3 Ivy League titles during his career, compiling a 24-4 conference record and an overall record of 36-4. Braunecker put up career numbers with the Bears last season, logging six catches for 59 yards and his first touchdown across 11 games. He spent the 2013-16 seasons on the Bears beat for Shaw Media publications, including the Northwest Herald, Daily Chronicle and Joliet Herald-News. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. What do you think we should be doing? 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. 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. With Trey Burton (calf) on injured reserve and Adam Shaheen (foot) sidelined, Braunecker had his second-straight start and was targeted three times. With the Bears having such a stocked roster (they were carrying 90 players and will have to whittle that number down to 80), cuts were inevitable and expected, but Braunecker was thought to have a better chance than, say, Saubert, Horstead or Holtz. Thought hed have a good shot to make the roster thanks to special teams. The Bears cut Braunecker on Thursday. For more information, please read our Legal Disclaimer. Ive tried doing that in-season, very minimally, and it really doesnt work that well. So stay tuned! 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. He wound up catching seven passes for 91 yards, which, considering the lackluster production that came from the Bears tight ends last year, wasnt bad team-wise. These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. Still, the move saved the Bears around $1 million in cap space, so it wasnt difficult to understand. Of the four (offseasons) that Ive had, two of them Ive worked in a lab at the Harvard School of Public Health. #Bears released veteran TE Ben Braunecker. Ranked 7th on the roster in special teams snaps last season while appearing in 11 games total. But Chicago Bears rookie Ben Braunecker isnt most college kids. He fought his way onto the roster as an undrafted free agent. I dont think this virus is going anywhere for a while, or at least a couple months. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Sports Mockery, Inc. 2022 | All rights reserved. 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. Use of any marks, trademarks, or logos on this website shall not constitute a sponsorship or endorsement by the trademark holder. More News Ben Braunecker: Let go by Chicago Some of your teammates have recorded PSA videos for the Bears Twitter account about flattening the curve. Despite having showcased a step forward in his development, offseason additions Cole Kmet, Jimmy Graham and Demetrius Harris have now made Braunecker the odd man out in Chicago's crowded tight end room. All Rights Reserved. In fact, hes only been targeted 22 times in four years, so hes been pretty easy to miss. The Bears on Thursday released veteran tight end Ben Braunecker. Whats your take on it? Braunecker (concussion) didn't practice Tuesday, Stacey Dales of NFL Network reports. Would love your thoughts, please comment. CBS Sports is a registered trademark of CBS Broadcasting Inc. 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