Terrell Lewis will be trying to make the Chicago Bears – or another NFL team – in the preseason finale against the Buffalo Bills on Saturday.

Lewis said this week he expected to be among the 53 players on the Chicago roster after the Bears trim their 90-player preseason roster to the regular-season limit, which must be done by 3 p.m. CDT Tuesday.

MORE NFL:

· BRYCE YOUNG THROWS HIS FIRST PRO TOUCHDOWN PASS

· AUBURN REJOINING THE NFL’S RUNNING-BACKS ROOM

· PRO BOWLER C.J. MOSLEY WORKS AT NEW YORK PIZZERIA

“I would be surprised, but at the same time I know how the business goes,” Lewis said, “so I feel like that’s why I just continue to focus on what can I do and control day-in and day-out because at the end of the day, especially during the preseason, you’re not only playing for yourself and the organization you’re with, but you’re also playing for every other team in the league. …

“I try not to think small. I always think big. I never have the mindset of I’m trying to make the team. I keep the mindset of: I know I belong in this league; I know I should be on a team.”

Lewis has stated his case on why he should be on the Bears with three sacks in two preseason games. He caused the quarterback to fumble on two of those sacks.

Chicago had the fewest sacks in the NFL last season with 20. The Bears seem ready to go with Yannick Ngakoue and DeMarcus Walker as the starting defensive ends in 2023. Last season, Ngakoue recorded 9.5 sacks for the Indianapolis Colts and Walker had seven for the Tennessee Titans.

Lewis is competing to make the team behind them, and Chicago coach Matt Eberflus said he had shown the same pass-rush ability during training camp that he had in the preseason games.

“He’s done a really good job of rushing the passer,” Eberflus said. “He’s rushed our guys. The front-liners and the backups, he’s rushed those guys pretty good in terms of the one-on-one pass rush.”

Lewis joined the Bears on Dec. 24, although he didn’t play for Chicago last season. The Bears signed him after he’d been released by the Los Angeles Rams, where he never seemed able to sustain success as an outside linebacker.

The Rams waived Lewis after a back injury had kept him out of the previous two games.

Lewis’ final three games with the Rams were his only starts of the 2022 season. He had 13 tackles, one sack, two tackles for loss, three quarterback hits, two passes defended and his first NFL interception while getting on the field for 332 defensive snaps and 14 special-teams plays in 11 games with Los Angeles last season.

A third-round selection in the 2020 NFL Draft, Lewis started his rookie season on the reserve/non-football injury list. He was recovering from knee surgery, a precautionary procedure undertaken because of infection concerns from his previous knee operation after a torn anterior cruciate ligament at Alabama in 2018.

Once he made his debut in the fifth game of the Rams’ 2020 season, Lewis played in eight games, registered five tackles and recorded two sacks in 124 defensive snaps as a rookie.

Halfway through the 2021 NFL season, Los Angeles acquired eight-time Pro Bowl outside linebacker Von Miller from the Denver Broncos, and the pass-rusher helped the Rams win Super Bowl LVI. But his acquisition also sent Lewis to the sidelines. Lewis had started the three games before Miller took over the spot in the lineup. Lewis did not play in the final six games of the regular season or Los Angeles’ four playoff games in 2021.

In 30 NFL regular-season games, including seven starts, Lewis has 40 tackles, six sacks, eight tackles for loss, 10 quarterback hits, three passes defended, one interception and one forced fumble. He’s been on the field for 823 defensive snaps and 19 special-teams plays.

“Through my journey, I never really lost confidence,” Lewis said. “I’ve always felt like I’ve known who I was. I even talked to the guys yesterday in our little squad session meeting. Just the journey of being at Alabama, being around so many great players. When I’m around those type of guys, those type of energies rub off, so I feel like I never really lost sight of who I really was because I’ve always paid attention to the things that I have done well.”

The Bears and Bills kick off at noon CDT Saturday at Soldier Field in Chicago.

FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.