Bears
Bears GM Ryan Poles described his approach to building their roster over the offseason after having no first-round picks in the 2022 NFL Draft or a lot of cap space to work with.
“Really, it was a holistic thing: How can we add the most amount of talent possible at all the positions? We had a lot of free agents leaving when I walked into the door. We didn’t have a first-round pick. We made a trade to get another second-round pick. We got some guys we really liked. And then we had to add volume,” said Poles, via Larry Mayer of the team’s official site. “So we traded back a few times, and I actually think our hit rate right now is really good for trading back and acquiring a lot of players. I’ve been proud of those rookies. Similar approach with free agency. We didn’t have a ton of money, so we really had to get guys that had specific traits and skillsets that we were looking for. And then same thing with the [waiver] claim period: ‘Where can we add to the roster?’ If it’s a corner and they’re like someone we had on the roster, can they also play special teams? So there were a lot of different thought processes, but it really was just how can we add the most amount of talent possible.”
Regarding the Bears making seven waiver claims following roster cuts, Poles explained that the strategy was introduced to him by Lions’ executive and former Chiefs GM John Dorsey.
“This process was introduced to me back to Kansas City by John Dorsey, and it’s really kind of like a Ron Wolf philosophical thing. What we do is we start in the beginning of training camp, and once the preseason games get started, different scouts are assigned to different teams and you almost become the GM of that team. You’re going to go ahead and look at the 53 and what guys are on the bubble, cap casualties, all those different things. You watch it through preseason and then what starts to happen is some of the guys start to pop. Are they going to make it? Are they going to keep six linebackers or five? What about four safeties or five? OK, well, they’re loaded at this one position. They might have to waive a guy who’s really talented but they really want him on the practice squad. So we just attack the tape. It’s three weeks. We flash the guys who make plays, and we see who shakes free and then we ask ourselves, ‘Does this player fit what we want and can he help the Chicago Bears?’ That’s how we do it. It’s a long process, especially once that 15-page waiver report comes out. [After final cuts] we went to about midnight, 1 o’clock watching tape and getting organized for that.”
As for the team carrying 15 rookies on the 53-man roster, Poles thinks it’s beneficial to have players to develop.
“It’s always good to have guys that you drafted or that are rookies on the team. They’re young and they can develop and you hope that they can perform and make plays for you. I think being a young and healthy team is always an important thing.”
Lions
Lions CB Jeff Okudah feels like he’s matured now entering the third year of his career after recovering from a torn Achilles.
“I think I’ve grown a lot,” Okudah said, via Colton Pouncy of The Athletic. “Especially coming out of college, I was probably a little (more) naive than I thought at the time, looking back. Just being able to go through some of the tough things that other guys go through, it’s definitely made me mature a lot. … It’s been able to grow me as a whole person.”
Okudah thinks that coming from Ohio State can prevent players from adjusting to the NFL.
“Being a rookie, coming from Ohio State, it’s just easy to get caught up in the way things are and not really realize the reality of what this game requires,” Okudah said. “I would say going through that has definitely helped me.”
Okudah said the team’s medical staff assured him that his Achilles injury “would be the least of my worries.”
“They kinda told me that the Achilles would be the least of my worries,” Okudah said. “It’ll be about getting back mentally, taking care of the rest of your body. For me, that was really reassuring going into the rehab process.”
Packers
Packers RBs Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon look like a classic lightning and thunder combination as one of the NFL’s best backfield tandems. But they both warn not to typecast them too much, particularly Dillon, as the 6-foot, 247-pound bruiser is looking to change perceptions of him in the passing game in 2022.
“When he came in catching the ball, I was like, ‘AJ, why was there a narrative that you couldn’t catch the ball?’” Jones said via the Athletic’s Matt Schneidman. “He was like, ‘Because they just didn’t throw it to me.’”
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