LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Kirk Barton has played in some pretty big games in the Buckeye State, first at Perry High School in Massillon and later at Ohio State University. But Thursday night’s contest in Cleveland could be the most important of them all.

For the young offensive tackle and other unheralded Bears rookies, the preseason finale against the Browns represents their final chance to impress coaches before Saturday, when NFL teams are required to trim their rosters to 53 players.

“It’s definitely a huge opportunity because we’re going to play the majority of the game,” said Barton, a seventh round draft pick. “There are going to be a lot of guys out there fighting for their lives. That’s the thing about the fourth preseason game. A lot of people think it’s meaningless, but for guys like us, it means everything.”

Kirk Barton was chosen by the Bears in the seventh round of the draft (247th overall).

Barton was a four-year starter and all-Big Ten selection as a senior at Ohio State, but the 6-4, 305-pounder knows that he’s starting over with a clean slate in the NFL.

“Every day you look at it like it’s your last day to impress because nothing’s guaranteed to you around here,” Barton said. “Every time you come out to work you’ve got to work as hard as you can and act like it’s the last time.”

Caleb Hanie is in the same boat. The undrafted free agent quarterback has performed well in the first three preseason games and will likely see his most extensive playing time to date in Cleveland.

“It’s a great opportunity to show what I can do and just kind of put whatever finish I can on the work I’ve done so far,” Hanie said.

The former Colorado State star has completed 17 of 32 passes for 206 yards with 3 touchdowns, 1 interception and an impressive 91.4 passer rating in the preseason.

“I’m pretty happy with it,” Hanie said of his progress. “You don’t know how you’re going to react to the NFL game coming out of college, and I feel like I’ve played with as much poise as I can and taken it one practice at a time for the most part.”

Hanie no doubt will be on the field quite a bit Thursday with guard Chester Adams, a seventh-round pick from Georgia. 

“It’s a big opportunity,” Adams said. “You’ve just got to go out there and put your best foot forward in everything you do. Just go out there and try to impress the coaches here, and just in case, other coaches around the league too.”

Fifth-round draft pick Zackary Bowman, a cornerback from Nebraska, also hopes to show coaches that he deserves a spot on the Bears’ 53-man roster.

“I’m just going to keep working hard,” Bowman said. “There’s a lot of stuff that I need to get better at. But there’s a lot of good stuff that I’ve done. I just need to be more consistent and go out there and make plays and just relax.”

With final cuts looming, it'll probably be difficult for rookies who aren't sure what the future holds to relax.

“It’s on everybody’s mind, and it’s been on my mind a lot,” Hanie said. “It hasn’t been that prevalent, but now it’s the last week, so this is when you find out whether you’re going to be on the team. The finality of it is hitting you a little bit this week.”

Barton insists that he isn’t dwelling on whether he’ll earn a roster spot.

“You can’t really control any of that,” he said. “All you can really control is how well you play and how well you can take coaching. I try to learn everything asked of me and give great effort every day, so hopefully I’ll put myself in the best position to make the team.
 
“I’ve worked as hard as I can,” he said. “Whether that will get me a spot here, I’m not sure. But I’ve tried to learn everything and work as hard as I could so that I wouldn’t have any regrets.”