Ryan Poles uses personal experience to get through the hardest part being a GM and other top moments from the 'Hard Knocks' finale
The season finale of HBO's "Hard Knocks" with the Chicago Bears is now out, showing the final moments of camp/preseason leading up to the start of the regular season.The finale of "Hard Knocks" is always an emotional episode with fans getting a personal look at the team trimming down the roster before the season kicks […]
The season finale of HBO's "Hard Knocks" with the Chicago Bears is now out, showing the final moments of camp/preseason leading up to the start of the regular season.
The finale of "Hard Knocks" is always an emotional episode with fans getting a personal look at the team trimming down the roster before the season kicks off.
We saw many fan favorites have their time in Chicago come to an end in this episode, but the finale was also filled with some more heart warming moments as well. Here are the top highlights from the fifth and final episode of "Hard Knocks" with the Bears.
Ryan Poles empathy shows during roster cuts
The worst day across the entire NFL occurred last week when hundreds of players saw their professional dreams come to an end on roster cut day. By last Tuesday, all 32 teams were forced to cut the 90-man roster down to 53, a difficult process that is even harder on the players receiving the news.
Since "Hard Knocks" began its first season, cut down day as been a defining moment of the show, seeing all the faces you've come to root for get told their days on the team are over. It's a tough conversation for any general manager to make and Ryan Poles handled all the conversations with incredible empathy, and for a specific reason.
That reason is because Poles has been on the opposite side of that conversation in the same room. In 2008, Poles was signed by the Bears as an undrafted free agent out of Boston College but was cut by team to form the 53-man roster. If Poles seemed like an expert handling that incredibly tough situation, it's because he's been on the other side of it and understands what those players were going through sitting at that table.
The hardest decision Poles seemed to make was cutting veteran defensive back Adrian Colbert, who had a strong preseason and has been with the team since 2022.
Rome Odunze, Jaylon Johnson get in the extra work
One of the most underrated storylines out of the Bears camp this summer has been the constant battle between the wide receivers and the cornerbacks.
Arguably the team's top two position groups in terms of overall talent have faced each other head-to-head each and every day during the entire offseason.
That kind of iron sharpens iron work has made everyone in those two position groups even better going into 2024. We already got a glimpse of Keenan Allen facing off against Jaylon Johnson during the second episode of the show.
Today, we got to see the team's top cornerback working on some fundamentals with rookie wide receiver Rome Odunze. The best part of the clip was the fact that the two were working on their craft together AFTER practice ended on that day. You love to see that kind of work ethic from your players, especially from the rookie.
Austin Reed makes triumphant return after initial cuts
Making the final decision in the quarterback room seemed to be a tough call for the Bears front office and coaching staff. Ultimately, the team elected to move on from veteran Brett Rypien in favor of keeping two rookies and a second-year on the team.
The coaching staff understood the level of experience in the room would be a potential obstacle down the road, but quarterbacks coach Kerry Joseph and head coach Matt Eberflus liked what they saw out of undrafted rookie Austin Reed and his long-term development.
The team first had to make the tough move of waiving Reed to create the initial 53-man roster without the guarantee that he will be back, but thankfully the Bears were able to bring him back on the practice squad after he cleared waivers and Rypien signed with the Minnesota Vikings.
It was great to see Reed come back to the building and sign his practice squad contract after what must have been a tough 24 hours filled with uncertainty.
Velus Jones Jr. gets the up-most confidence from the Bears
The Bears do-it-all play maker in the shined during the preseason after moving from wide receiver to running back while serving as the team's primary kick returner. Which made it no surprise to see Velus Jones Jr. get so much praise from everyone inside the organization.
It was also a surprise to see that another team had interest in trading for Jones but Poles and Eberflus weren't willing to part ways with him despite his struggles, unless the other team in question was willing to give up at least a fourth round selection.
The Bears clearly have high hopes for Jones within the offense and under the new kickoff rules during the upcoming 2024 regular season.
