Poles on roster cutdown decisions, cornerback out for the season

Ariana Pensy · Correspondent · 6 hours ago

CHICAGO - Roster cutdown is one of the hardest days of the year for a general manager, including for Bears’ general manager Ryan Poles.

There were many players cut who were trying to make the roster, but perhaps one of the saddest updates concerns rookie cornerback Zah Frazier, who will be out for the season due to a Non-Football Injury (NFI) list.

“And then for Zah Frazier, a little bit of a complicated deal because he’s going to go on NFI. He had a situation that presented itself in a category that I would say (is) personal. As we dug into it, tried to help him out, revealed itself as something that happened before he got here. So, credit to our staff, find the root cause of what he was going through. So, he’ll be down for the year,” Poles said. “But, he’ll spend the time going to meetings, in the weight room, with the medical staff preparing for next season to get ready to play. So, kind of a bummer on the front end. But, I think because of everyone’s hard work and care here, we got him on the right path.”

In other roster news, Chicago will be keeping three quarterbacks, electing to receive Austin Reed. They have also let go of running back Ian Wheeler and wide receiver Tyler Scott, who the Bears drafted in the fourth round back in 2023. In addition, they have also released defensive lineman Zacch Pickens, who was a third-round selection for the Bears in 2023.

All of this goes to show just how competitive the roster was, something Poles attributes not only to the players but to the coaching staff.

“I thought it was very competitive on the roster. It made the cutdown process difficult. I give a lot of that credit to the players that worked extremely hard, but also our coaching staff,” Poles said. “The staff did a wonderful job developing some players, putting them really ahead of the developmental curve and in place to compete for starting positions, backup roles, and making the 53, which is always a good thing.”

Looking at the wide receiver room, Chicago has six wide receivers on the official 53-man roster - DJ Moore, Rome Odunze, Jahdae Walker, Luther Burden III, Olamide Zaccheaus and Devin Duvernay.

The presence of Zaccheaus on the roster is noteworthy, given how many veteran receivers were released by other teams around the league.

Another noteworthy member of the receiving group is Walker, who was undrafted coming out of college from Texas A&M.

“The way Zaccheaus has played has been outstanding. Luther has taken huge steps and he’s just starting. Jahdae and that’s what I say, when I think of Jahdae and I think (offensive lineman) Theo (Benedet), where they walked in to where they are today, the discussion was developmental and then they kind of put themselves ahead of that curve,” Poles said. “So, that receiver group, which made letting Tyler Scott go (Tuesday) difficult, but we have to stay true to competition and true to talent, not where guys are drafted. So, I’m proud of that, part of our group and the development for him. He earned it.”

With all of the talented people the Bears kept on their roster, quarterback Caleb Williams has ample options for players to target in the receiving game this year and an offensive line that should be able to protect him.

While transitioning to head coach Ben Johnson’s offensive scheme has not been without its challenges, Poles is pleased with the progress he has seen from Williams thus far.

“There were some up and down moments, which was expected when a new system is coming in and it’s not easy. There’s no wristbands. There’s some foundational work that he had to work through as well. So, there’s some growing pains that happen,” Poles said. “But, I know when I put the whole timeline together, start from when he walks on campus from last year to this year, there’s been a ton of growth there and I know as we get into the game weeks and dial in, that speed of play and being efficient should increase as we go. But, I know they loaded him up and they were really hard on him, which is going to be great for his development and I know he’d rather go through that tough time in order to have success later. So, I think we’ll build off of this and it will be good.”