Chicago Bears: What we learned from GM Ryan Poles after final cuts

Cutdown day is tough for all general managers around the league. It's no different for Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles.

Here's what we learned from Poles in a press conference after the Bears made their final cuts and unveiled their initial 53-man roster.

Concern for the running backs?:

On Monday, Bears' starting running back D'Andre Swift was all by himself.

The Bears' running back room has been hampered by injuries, as Kyle Monongai and Roschon Johnson have missed the last two preseason games and Travis Homer was just put on the short-term injured reserve. Ian Wheeler, Royce Freeman and Brittain Brown didn't survive final cuts either.

So, it was just Swift and running backs coach Eric Bieniemy doing drills on Tuesday.

It was weird for Swift, but Poles said it was a situation that should resolve itself soon. He didn't seem too worried about the statuses of Monongai and Johnson. 

"We'll still look out and see if there are guys there that can help us," Poles said.

Bears head coach Ben Johnson has also used different players in the backfield during camp, too. Wide receiver DJ Moore has been in the backfield at times. If the Bears need help in the backfield, Poles trusts the mad scientist side of his head coach to help figure it out.

"With Ben's creativity, who knows who'll be back there," Poles said.

Zah Frazier's status:

The Bears drafted Zah Frazier in the fifth-round of the 2025 NFL Draft out of UTSA because he fit defensive coordinator Dennis Allen's need for long, wirey and physical cornerbacks in his press-man scheme.

However, he never got a chance to show it during training camp.

"He had a situation that presented itself, in a category that I would say personal," Poles said. "As we dug into it, tried to help him out, it revealed itself to be something that happened before he got here."

That personal situation will keep Frazier on the sidelines for the entire 2025 season.

That opens up a chance for reserve defensive back Nick McCloud to stick on the roster for the season. McCloud had earned it, showing he can play both outside corner and nickelback.

For this year, Frazier will be with the Bears and particiapting in meetings as he tries to get up to speed.

"Credit to our staff finding the root cause of what he was going through," Poles said. "He'll be down for the year, but he'll spend the time doing meetings in the DB room and with the medical staff preparing for next season to get ready to play."

Offensive line decisions:

One of the biggest questions from training camp went from "Can Kiran Amegadije win the left tackle job?" to "Does Kiran Amegadije have a guaranteed roster spot?"

On Tuesday, the latter question was a yes. Amegadije is on the 53-man roster, but slid down the depth chart since the start of camp. Now, he's behind Braxton Jones and Theo Benedet.

Poles said Amegadije has also moved inside the offensive line, and has been working at guard

"We'll continue to work on his versatility," Poles said. "We know he can do some left and right, but playing inside's going to be big, too."

That versatility is necessary for a player like Amegadije, but having him move to guard isn't a massive vote of confidence for the second-year guard out of Yale. If he doesn't find his spot on the line by this time next year, there's a chance he could be among roster cuts.

Meanwhile, Poles did like what he saw from rookie Ozzy Trapilo when Trapilo moved from the left tackle battle to the right side. It's up to the coaches if Trapilo stays at right tackle, but Poles likes what he sees out of the rookie in terms of the short-term and long-term of the offensive line.

"I thought he settled in and it looked very natural, his hands, his feet," Poles said. "But it looked like that when he started out at left early. I think he just hit a rookie wall in the middle of the camp there where things just kind of got all over the place and he needed to settle in. And I think going back to watch at KC, you could see things slow down a little bit for him. But, his technique came back because that was the best part of his game."

What's next for the roster:

Poles has been honest about the Bears' roster since the start of camp.

He feels good about where the competition is and the depth of the roster, but there will always be movement or situations in the NFL that present themselves where players become available.

Poles was open about those situations, too.

"We'll always continue to monitor the league in terms of calls with trades, waiver claims to see if there any way to help our football team get better," Poles said.

That monitor position includes action and some self-awareness.

"We always will call and see what the situation is and then weigh that against our short-term and long-term decision-making process and does it make sense," Poles said. "What does it take to acquire a player? If the player's here, what's the cost? And then, we'll say ‘okay, for where we are, is that something we want to do?’"

These questions circle around players like Trey Hendrickson and Micah Parsons potentially being available in the midst of contract disputes. Hendrickson agreed to a revised contract on Monday. Parsons is still holding out.

The bottom line is to not expect the 53-man roster that came to light Tuesday to stay the same before the Bears play the Vikings on Sept. 8. But, it's hard to see the Bears making a Khalil Mack-type trade before the season opener.

"There's more levels to just grabbing the talent to bring it in," Poles said.

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