The Bears’ initial 53-man roster was set on Tuesday. The waiver wire cranked up on Wednesday morning, with the Bears being awarded two claims.

[NFL waiver claims: Bears grab defensive back, linebacker who’d been cut]

Everyone who passed through the wire unclaimed was free to be signed to the practice squad. The Bears inked deals with 15 players for the 16-man unit, the team announced just before their Wednesday afternoon practice.

Here’s the full list:

• WR Maurice Alexander
• WR Miles Boykin
• RB Brittain Brown
• TE Stephen Carlson
• DL Xavier Carlton
• LB Power Echols
• LS Luke Elkin
• DB Tre Flowers
• DL Jonathan Ford
• DB Mekhi Garner
• DL Tanoh Kpassagnon
• DL Jamree Kromah
• OL Jordan McFadden
• WR JP Richardson
• OL Ricky Stromberg

The Bears still have an open spot remaining, which could go to another player who spent the offseason program and training camp with the Bears, or it could go to another player who is now a street free agent. Veteran defensive end Tanoh Kpassagnon is on the list after being a surprise cut on Tuesday. He’s expected back on the active roster at some point.

It’s fair to believe that long snapper Scott Daly and return man Devin Duvernay, corresponding moves for their awarded waiver claims, should be back in some capacity before Monday night’s regular-season opener versus the Vikings. The Bears did this exact thing with Daly last year, and he was on the active roster later in the year to save roster spots for other positions.

Adding Brown to the practice squad offers the Bears some running-back injury protection entering Week 1, if both Roschon Johnson and Kyle Monagai aren’t physically ready. Brown could be a standard elevation, without having to technically join the active roster. The list above features quality depth along the defensive line and at tight end, with Stephen Carlson.