The Chicago Bears added experienced depth to their secondary on Thursday, signing defensive back Josh Butler to the practice squad while waiving defensive lineman Jamree Kromah, which followed the Bears’ blockbuster trade for defensive tackle Jeffrey Simmons.
The move comes as the 5-2 Bears prepare for a Monday night matchup against the Seattle Seahawks.
It also coincides with a major roster shakeup that included the acquisition of All-Pro defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons from the Tennessee Titans.
Butler, 29, brings a well-traveled résumé to Chicago. The former Michigan State cornerback went undrafted in 2020 and spent time in developmental leagues before reaching the NFL.
He played for the Michigan Panthers of the USFL in 2023, where he recorded 29 tackles and six pass breakups in 10 games.
He later signed with the Dallas Cowboys, appearing in six regular-season games with three starts across the 2024 and 2025 seasons. In that span he totaled 26 tackles, five passes defended, and one sack.
His most productive stretch came in 2024, when he played five games (three starts) and posted 21 tackles, five pass breakups, and a sack before suffering a torn ACL. He appeared in one game in 2025 after recovering from the injury.
Earlier this month, Butler briefly joined the Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadian Football League on their practice roster before being released.
The 6-foot, 192-pound defensive back also has special teams experience and logged solid college production at Michigan State, finishing with 54 tackles and 11 pass breakups over 43 games.
For the Bears, the addition provides another body in a secondary that has seen several recent transactions.
Kromah, a 26-year-old defensive lineman who originally joined Chicago as an undrafted free agent in 2024, had appeared in two games this season with two tackles and one tackle for loss before being waived.
The practice-squad signing of Butler gives the Bears flexibility for potential elevations while they continue to manage the defensive depth chart around the Simmons acquisition and other recent roster adjustments.
While practice-squad signings of this nature rarely make immediate headlines, Butler’s combination of starting experience, pass-coverage production, and special-teams value offers the Bears a low-risk veteran option as they navigate the second half of the season.
Whether he sees action in the coming weeks will depend on injuries and game-day elevations, but the move underscores Chicago’s ongoing effort to maintain depth across the defense.
