Veteran QB Nathan Peterman signs a 1-year deal with the Chicago Bears, who also add a tight end and receiver

Veteran quarterback Nathan Peterman signed a one-year contract with the Chicago Bears on Wednesday.

The signing adds QB depth behind starter Justin Fields and backup Trevor Siemian.

Another body was needed after the Bears cut ties with Nick Foles last month. But it is unclear if general manager Ryan Poles expects to carry three quarterbacks on his roster into the regular season or whether Peterman will simply serve to help the Bears push through organized team activities, minicamp, training camp and the preseason.

Peterman spent the last three-plus seasons with the Raiders, with whom he attempted just five passes during regular-season action. He was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the fifth round in 2017, making four starts and playing in eight games over two seasons.

One of Peterman’s starts came in Week 9 of 2018 against the Bears, a woeful performance in which he was sacked four times and threw three interceptions in a 41-9 loss. With his team down 28 points on the final play of the first half, Peterman opted against throwing a pass into the end zone from the Bears 37-yard line and instead settled for a meaningless 24-yard scramble as time ran out.

That game marked his last performance in a Bills uniform. He was released a little more than a week later and signed to the Raiders practice squad the following month.

In Peterman’s 10 career outings in the NFL, he has completed 52.6% of his passes while posting a 34.0 passer rating. He is expected to join the Bears for OTAs next week as their third-string quarterback.

In other roster moves, the Bears claimed tight end Rysen Johns off waivers after he was let go by the New York Giants. Johns joined the Giants in 2020 as an undrafted free agent out of Simon Fraser University in Canada but spent the last two seasons on injured reserve.

The Bears also waived tight end Jesper Horsted with a failed physical designation. Horsted was with the organization for three seasons. He spent all of 2019 on the practice squad, then totaled 10 catches, 108 yards and three touchdowns in limited action over the last two years.

The Bears also reached a contract agreement with veteran receiver Dante Pettis, a former second-round pick who has 52 career receptions for 739 yards with five touchdowns in 33 games over his five seasons in the league with the Giants and San Francisco 49ers. Pettis shared that news on Twitter.

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Source: Berkshire mont