Chicago Bears Roster: Linebacker Manti Te’o Signed to Practice Squad

The Chicago Bears have signed linebacker Manti Te’o to the practice squad, per the Bears official website.

The Bears brought in Te’o last week, with a few other linebackers, to try out. Te’o takes the practice-squad spot of kicker Kai Forbath, who on Tuesday was signed by Los Angeles Rams. Forbath was largely considered an emergency backup to Bears’ kicker Cairo Santos, who nailed a 55-yard career-long field goal on Sunday.

As for Te’o, it’s not likely we’ll see him on the Bears active roster anytime soon. Of course, an injury or two could change that quickly.

He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the 2nd round (38th overall) of the 2013 NFL draft. He’s never had tremendous success at the pro-level but would certainly be a serviceable short-term replacement in the event of an injury.

The native Hawaiian has 62 appearances in the NFL, including 48 starts between the Chargers and the New Orleans Saints. He has 307 career tackles, with 22 of those tackles going for a loss.