General manager Ryan Poles joined the Bears' preseason TV broadcast Saturday night in Nashville, speaking with team reporter Jasmine Baker about a variety of topics ahead of Sunday evening's 53-man roster deadline.
This year, the NFL moved roster cutdown day up by two days to accommodate the Week 1 game between the 49ers and Rams in Australia, meaning Poles and the Bears' football operations staff have less than 24 hours after the preseason finale against the Titans to finalize the initial roster.
"The window is definitely a lot tighter than what it was before," Poles said. "But thankfully, we're in a really good spot. We're really organized, we've had a lot of conversations, really setting up A, B and C based on what happens tonight. But we'll get together and go through some of those positions that are tight battles and make some decisions. Also, we'll talk about what we see across the league — guys that have flashed that might be on the bubble. There's gonna be a lot of really good conversations over the next 24 hours. It'll be a late night and an early morning, but that's fine. I love doing this part of the job."
One of those groups with a tight battle amongst several players is the secondary. With nickel back Kyler Gordon sidelined due to an injury and safety Coby Bryant suffering a knee injury early in camp that will keep him out until at least mid-December, a pair of key spots in coordinator Dennis Allen's defense remain up for grabs.
"That's a really tight battle out there," Poles said. "We're really happy with how Jaylon's (Jaylon Johnson) come along and Tyrique [Stevenson]. And it's been fun to watch Malik [Muhammad II] develop both inside and outside. That flexibility is going to be huge for his career and for us. And then our depth players, we're really watching how they do on special teams as well. So that blend of guys is in a tight battle. And we're excited because we know they're going to help us throughout the season."
While the main focus is on which players make the 53-man roster, Poles and his staff take a lot of pride in the 16 players that make up the team's practice squad. Finalizing those spots is a key part of the Bears' decision-making over the next few days as players become available across the league.
"Sometimes there's a perspective that practice squad is so beneath the 53, but we take those positions really seriously around here because we know at some point during the season, those guys are going to be called up to play for us," Poles said. "So, our development process on the practice squad matters, and who we select to be on the practice squad really, really matters for us. And it's usually a blend of development and some veterans that can come up and play for us immediately."
