The Chicago Bears added a veteran body at wide receiver on Monday, signing Ray-Ray McCloud III after a rough stretch of training camp practices left the position thin. The corresponding move: Chicago waived undrafted rookie Kyron Hudson with an injury designation, according to Windy City Gridiron.
The injury that set this off belongs to Luther Burden III. The second-year receiver strained his groin during a 1-on-1 rep against cornerback Tyrique Stevenson, and Heavy.com reported that ESPN’s Adam Schefter has Burden missing the rest of the preseason. The expectation, per multiple outlets, is that he’s back for the Week 1 opener at Carolina on September 13 — but “expected back for Week 1” from a training camp report is not the same as confirmed, and it’s worth treating it that way until the Bears actually activate him.
Why McCloud, Specifically
McCloud isn’t walking into Chicago as a starter-in-waiting. He’s a return specialist first, receiver second — he led the NFL in punt return yardage back in 2021 with Pittsburgh, and he’s logged 140 career punt returns for 1,326 yards to go with 126 kick returns for another 2,890, per Roundtable’s breakdown of his career numbers. His best receiving season came in 2024 with Atlanta — 62 catches, 686 yards, one touchdown across all 17 games. He barely played in 2025, splitting time on New York’s practice squad.
That gap between “led the league in a return category” and “62 catches was his ceiling as a receiver” tells you exactly what this signing is. Chicago isn’t betting on McCloud to be Burden’s replacement in the offense. They’re betting on a guy who can handle punts and kicks reliably while the receiver room sorts itself out, with a rookie in Burden nursing a groin strain and Zavion Thomas also banged up with a knee issue.
The Roster Math Behind It
Chicago kept six wide receivers on last year’s 53-man roster. If Ben Johnson goes six again this season, Rome Odunze, Burden, DJ Moore’s replacement in the room, and a couple of locks probably account for four or five of those spots — which means McCloud is likely fighting Scotty Miller and Kaden Davis for what’s left, not for a role in the base offense. That’s a crowded, low-leverage battle, and it’s the kind of signing that tends to not survive final cuts unless camp goes sideways for someone else.
Here’s the part that doesn’t quite add up cleanly: Chicago’s receiver room, even without Burden, wasn’t thin. They traded DJ Moore to Buffalo this offseason, sure, but Odunze is entering year two as a clear No. 1 option, and Colston Loveland gives the offense a legitimate receiving tight end. Bringing in a 30-year-old journeyman days before the first preseason game against Cleveland reads less like a plan and more like a team covering itself against a worst-case injury scenario at a position that’s already had two of them in a week.
Needing camp depth, the #Bears signed WR Ray-Ray McCloud III
— Patrick Finley (@patrickfinley) August 10, 2026
What’s Actually Confirmed Here
The signing itself and the corresponding Hudson waiver are confirmed — the team announced both. Burden’s groin strain is confirmed. What’s not fully locked in yet is the recovery timeline. “About a month” and “ready for Week 1” are both reasonable estimates from credible reporters, but they’re estimates, not team-issued clearance, and groin injuries for skill players have a way of lingering past optimistic early timelines. Worth watching how Burden looks once he’s back on the field rather than assuming Week 1 is a given.
