LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Bears general manager Ryan Poles admitted that was extremely difficult making this week’s roster cuts. It’s tough from an emotional perspective. It’s also tough professionally, letting talented, hard-working individuals walk out the front door because there just wasn’t a spot for them.

“Compared to the first two years (as Bears GM),” Poles said, “This was the most difficult time whittling this thing down to 53.”

That’s not necessarily a bad thing.

RELATED CONTENT:

• Bears 53-man roster analysis: Kyler Gordon, Jaylon Johnson and aggressive secondary highlight Bears defense
• Bears 53-man roster analysis: Caleb Williams leads potentially explosive offense
• NFL roster cuts: Tracking every move Bears make to reach 53-man roster limit
• Bears sign Austin Reed, 13 others to practice squad

It means the Bears had a spirited, competitive camp. It means unheralded players pushed established vets and made decisions tough. It also means that this group really cares about each other, that the chemistry everyone brings up in press conferences is really real.

“When you’re intentional bringing in the right type of people, when you invest in relationships, you invest time in bonding and creating this group and culture, it makes cut-down day extremely hard,” Poles said. “It’s emotional because you care about the guys and you want to see them be successful, but you know at the end of the day there’s business decisions that have to happen and you’ve got to get this thing down to a 53-man roster, which was difficult.”

In a backwards way, such difficulty is a sign of progress. The Bears cupboards were bare when Poles arrived in 2022 and it was worth questioning whether they had 53 NFL caliber players worthy of contention.

That’s no longer an issue, without a discernably weak position group and guys who could’ve made other teams getting cut from this one. The Bears front office has reached a point where they can think about the present and future when making decisions, and factor the development required to be successful in both time frames.

“I’m proud of the process that we’ve set up,” Poles said. “It’s not just about acquiring the best talent, it’s about acquiring the right talent. I think that’s what you see in this building. It’s special. The group of guys, it’s really special. I’ve talked a lot about that, but even when you go through cut-down day and you’re letting guys go, they’re like, ‘Man, I just wanna be here. I can feel it. I want to be a part of this thing.’

“I always look at it and I’m excited about it, but when you hear from people inside the building but also outside, it makes you feel really good about the progress that you made. A lot of hard work, a lot of time, and developing the process so it’s sustainable.”

We’ll see if all this leads to wins and playoff berths. Maybe it will. Maybe it won’t, depending on how the Bears react to the inevitable adversity during the regular season. There was moderate optimism last season, but a horrific start caused that season to collapse.

The excitement surrounding this team is borderline unbridled. Success is expected, which comes with the territory while employed a 53-man roster as talented as this.

“(We’ve made) significant improvements,” Poles said, “which makes me proud of the work that we’ve done here as an entire organization.”

Follow Bears Insider Scott Bair on X @ScottBairNFL.