Byron

Pringle

Pringle was re-signed by the Commanders in July, but while the 30-year-old made the initial roster, he’ll now be looking for a new home for a team looking for special teams help.

Pringle began his career with the Chiefs and has since become a journeyman, playing for three different teams in the past three years. He will return to Washington after going for 161 yards on 14 receptions with the Commanders last season. Pringle will also see plenty of work on special teams.

Pringle was never able to gain momentum while playing with the quarterback that arguably had the best start to his career in Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City, making this news more of a potential depth tryout than anything else. Even so, any camp invite is better than no camp invite for the quiet veteran. The Giants also extended camp invites to QB Jarrett Guarantano, WR Jakeem Grant, WR T.J. Luther, and WR Lincoln Victor.

We wouldn’t be rushing to add Pringle this week, despite his unexpected outing. The speedy receiver popped up on a 26-yard reception to bail Sam Howell out of a would-be sack and managed a few more downfield receptions along the way. Pringle is explosive with the ball in his hands, but opportunities for him to make plays are few and far between. This is the first we’ve written about Pringle since July, which should tell you all you need to know.

Pringle will reunite with Eric Bieniemy in Washington after playing under Bieniemy from 2019-2021 in Kansas City. Pringle had 42 receptions on 60 targets during the 2021 season as the Chiefs struggled with wideout injuries. The veteran has a shot of making the Commanders roster with an impressive training camp and preseason.

Pringle ends his first season with the Bears with nine catches for 130 yards and two touchdowns in ten games. An offseason signing from Kansas City, Pringle couldn’t muster much playing time in the NFL’s worst receiver group. Rookie Velus Jones eventually replaced Pringle in the Chicago offense.

Pringle caught a first half pass for 14 yards and a 20-yarder on the Bears’ final drive with Nathan Peterman at quarterback in the blowout loss. Pringle functioned as an every-down player in a Chicago offense racked with wide receiver injuries but couldn’t get anything going in a low-volume passing attack. Pringle can be left on the waiver wire this week.

Claypool will miss another game with a lingering knee injury. St. Brown, who suffered a brain injury in Week 15 against the Eagles, will join Claypool on the sideline. That gives Byron Pringle and Cole Kmet some volume-based fantasy appeal against the Bills, who could force the Bears out of their favored run-heavy game plane.

Pringle stepped into a larger role with Darnell Mooney and Chase Claypool sidelined this week. He made the most of the boost in snaps with his second touchdown as a Bear. Both have come over the past three weeks. Pringle was lost in the chaos of a Justin Fields scramble and got behind Philly’s defense for an easy score. Despite the score, Pringle isn’t seeing enough volume to be a viable FLEX option heading into Week 16.

The Bears will have Byron Pringle active for the first time since Week 3, making N’Keal Harry a healthy scratch. Jones was a healthy scratch in Week 9 and remains inactive against the Lions. The Bears will likely be more focused on getting the ball to Chase Claypool, Darnell Mooney, and Cole Kmet than Pringle, keeping him off the fantasy radar.