A clogged cat doesn't mean you'll fail emissions... a glazed cat means that. The stock cat flows maybe half the capacity of the engine at a medium load... actually, probably less.
Could definitely be the bearing, never presume a component (even new) isn't likely to fail. I was under the impression that when those bearings went that you felt it more than heard it though.
Very much not a fan of seafoam... but in this case even steaming the inside of the engine could have the same effect of loosening too much debris at once.
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