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1st & North: A look at the Chicago Bears on roster cutdown day
Here's what FOX 32's Lou Canellis took away from the Bears' roster cuts on the 53-player deadline day as all NFL teams trimmed their rosters.
LAKE FOREST, Ill. - It's not over yet for the Chicago Bears. Not for a little bit, at least.
The 53-man roster is *set, with an asterisk. There will be more to come, especially as the Bears finagle a few different needs.
The first is a long snapper.
Bears head coach Matt Eberflus said Wednesday Patrick Scales will be put on injured reserve. The team re-signed Khari Blasingame in a corresponding move. Still, the need is here.
The Bears reportedly signed long snapper and Notre Dame alum Scott Daly, who was most recently with the Detroit Lions.
Figuring out everything else, though, is made easier because the hard part is over.
"This year, by far from the first three years, was the most difficult time whittling this thing down to 53," Bears general manager Ryan Poles said. "We had some really good discussions, a lot of back and forth, constantly talking about, worrying about today, but also looking into the future. We're always looking not only just now, but also what's the roster going to look like, what are the situations one, two, three years from now."
One part of the team that Poles was particularly proud of is the offensive line group.
The Bears got Ryan Bates back to practice on Wednesday, officially shedding the week-to-week tag that kept him sidelined for the past two weeks. Poles pointed out the depth that exists there, which can shine now that Bates and Nate Davis are both healthy.
Poles said he even heard it from elsewhere.
"This is the best depth I’ve ever had," Poles said. "When we let one of the guys go on cut downs I said, ‘Man you did an excellent job, I wish we could keep you here’ and he said, ‘This is deepest room I’ve ever been a part of.’"
That depth gives way to versatility, something the Bears' offensive line needed after a rash of injuries made that lack of versatility standout last season.
"We have more versatility, more depth. Shoot, we have 10 guys," Poles said. "I feel comfortable. Obviously, you want your starting five healthy and ready to go, but I feel more confident in our O-line than I ever have before."
Poles spent the first two years building this team from the ground up. There are only three Bears – Cole Kmet, Jaylon Johnson and Scales – that are still on the roster from the 2021 season before Poles took over.
With the roster growth firmly displayed in the high-level rookies and Pro Bowl-level of talent the Bears acquired this offseason, Poles can focus on the next step.s
One of those focuses is evaluating the team through the first quarter of the season.
Eberflus talked about this season is a week-to-week process. No one wants to look too far ahead, but you can't remain held back in past successes or failures, either.
Poles' biggest priority is the Bears' future, which is Caleb Williams.
Now, he can evaluate how he can better Williams' Bears career. He already shared how quarterbacks can be artists or surgeons – or, quarterbacks that can create on the fly or quarterbacks that can create within a system.
Now, he's evaluating another quarterback trait.
"Their heartbeat," Poles said. "Does their heartbeat skyrocket in those pressure situations or do you see calm? We’re not going to know until we are in it as far as the pro side of it, but that’s what I look for. I want the game to slow down, there to be a level of poise. I’ll go back to it’s a combination of taking what the defense gives you, leaning on your talent and then where you are forced to be special be special."
One of the other focuses can be completing the tasks that Poles set out to achieve the day he was hired in Chicago.
"Let's get the roster in the best shape possible because that's going to give us the opportunity to win games," Poles said. "It's always going to be to win championships, to win the division, win Super Bowls, that's always the goal."
The Bears, for the first time since Poles was hired, have a good chance to make the playoffs when looking at the roster on paper.
Last season, the Bears were hopeful they could make the playoffs. But they were banking on growth setting in during the season to make that happen. It only started materializing in the latter half of the season.
Poles won't set playoffs as a goal. Instead, he calls it a priority.
That priority then becomes taking a jump ahead from where they left last year.
"Getting into the playoffs and winning playoff games would be outstanding," Poles said. "I think the biggest thing is can we take that big jump from where we were last year, to this year? I think we're capable of doing that."