After 6 interceptions in Alec Ogletree’s 1st 4 practices with the Chicago Bears, what are the veteran inside linebacker’s chances to make the roster?

The Chicago Bears can’t keep this secret forever if Alec Ogletree keeps doing headline-worthy stuff at training camp.

The veteran inside linebacker, signed Wednesday after injuries swept across the roster, has six interceptions in his first four practices and is the only defender consistently putting footballs in the team’s takeaway bucket — a blue laundry cart on wheels — to celebrate momentous plays.

Not all interceptions are created equally, but you can’t help but notice how Ogletree has been around the ball during his first week of learning the defensive system. A former standout for the St. Louis Rams, who drafted him in the first round out of Georgia in 2013, Ogletree still might be a bit of a long shot to make the roster. That could change if he continues his torrid pace of making plays for a defense that didn’t make nearly enough the last two seasons.

The Bears declined to make Ogletree available to media after practice at Halas Hall on Sunday, when he had another pick in 7-on-7 red-zone drills. That made it four straight practices with an interception for Ogletree, who has 12 career picks in 93 games with three coming against the Bears.

Conventional thinking is teams running a base 3-4 defense will go light at inside linebacker after cutting the roster to 53. That’s what the Bears did a year ago when they opened the season with four: starters Roquan Smith and Danny Trevathan along with Josh Woods and Joel Iyiegbuniwe as backups and core special teams players.

However, the Bears went heavy at inside linebacker two years ago, when they surprisingly kept six: the four listed above along with Kevin Pierre-Louis and Nick Kwiatkoski. It was considered one of the stronger areas of the roster, and all four backups were key on special teams.

Ogletree was signed as a depth addition because Woods (quadriceps) has been out, Iyiegbuniwe (hamstring) has been limited and Christian Jones has been on the reserve/COVID-19 list since Tuesday. The Bears needed inside linebackers to practice and turned to Ogletree, who was with the New York Jets for only two games last season.

The Rams traded Ogletree to the New York Giants in 2018, less than six months after signing him to a four-year, $42 million contract extension. The Rams were pivoting to create salary-cap space, and the Giants were revamping the position. He did OK in two seasons for the Giants — and certainly played well in games against the Bears and quarterbacks Chase Daniel and Mitch Trubisky — but they released him after the 2019 season.

If Ogletree — who began his college career as a safety — continues to be in the right spot at the right time, it will be noticed, and barring some quick comebacks by the sidelined linebackers, he figures to get extensive playing time Saturday in the preseason opener against the Miami Dolphins at Soldier Field.

“He is a nice-sized guy (6-foot-2, 245 pounds) that has speed and he has experience too, so when you get into these situations in training camp where you’re looking for a little bit of depth, he helps out,” coach Matt Nagy said. “He’s providing great depth and competition, and that’s all we can ask for.”

Ogletree, who turns 30 next month, might not move like he did earlier in his career, but he’s probably more fluid in pass coverage than Trevathan at this point. Trevathan has looked better in camp than he did early last season, but defensive coordinator Sean Desai has to know opponents are going to scheme ways to attack him in the passing game. Trevathan isn’t going anywhere as the Bears fully guaranteed his $3 million base salary.

While Woods and Iyiegbuniwe haven’t emerged on defense like the Bears might have hoped, they’ve been reliable players for special teams coordinator Chris Tabor. Ogletree, as a frontline defensive player since entering the NFL, has only 187 career snaps on special teams — 82 of them coming during his rookie season. Perhaps the Bears will seek to discover if that’s part of his game that can be developed.

Jones wasn’t an insignificant offseason addition as a capable backup and experienced special teams player. He’s also bigger at 6-3, 240 pounds, and Tabor is always seeking players with height and length who can move.

All Ogletree can do is prove he’s comfortable learning Desai’s system while trying to make more plays. The Bears are off Monday, so we’ll see Tuesday if he can make it five consecutive practices with an interception.

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