The Chicago Bears trimmed their roster to 53 players on Tuesday, which meant saying some hard goodbyes to 27 players.
It was especially emotional for Chicago’s rookies, who experienced final roster cutdown day for the first time.
“It was a rollercoaster of emotions from nervous, anxiety, just everything you feel,” said seventh-round offensive lineman Ja’Tyre Carter, who made the cut. “Anything a human could feel, all those emotions just came in one day.”
For fifth-round rookie offensive lineman Zachary Thomas, he spent the day watching his phone and waiting to hear his fate. (Spoiler alert: He made the initial cut.)
“It was stressful all day,” Thomas said. “I mean, I was watching my phone all day. I woke up, first thing I did [was] check the phone, just waiting for a call from an Illinois number. Terrifying.
“I never got told that I was good. So I was in meetings, and then my family saw on Instagram [I made the team] while I was in meetings. My phone just started to blow up, just congrats, that they’re happy for me, stuff like that. Short, simple stuff. I mean, I haven’t even looked at my phone. I’m sure it’s still blowing up.”
For sixth-round rookie running back Trestan Ebner, he wasn’t feeling the nerves. It was more difficult seeing his teammates leave than anything.
“I wasn’t really as nervous as I probably should have been,” Ebner said. “But I’m just a strong believer in God, so I know he’ll take care of everything. But just seeing some of the guys you’ve grown close to, seeing them leave, it’s kind of different. Everybody stays in college, and here you see guys packing up their lockers and stuff. So that got me in my feelings a little bit.”
While the Bears have their initial 53-man roster set, there’s sure to be some movement along the waiver wire that could result in more goodbyes.
- Chicago Bears announce initial 53-man roster
- 8 takeaways from the Bears’ initial 53-man roster
- Bears’ initial 53-man roster: Who made the cut at each position?
- Where are the Bears in the waiver wire order?
- Packers activating veteran kicker Mason Crosby off PUP list. READ MORE ON PACKERS WIRE.
- Vikings trade for Texans DL Ross Blacklock. READ MORE ON VIKINGS WIRE.
- Jerry Jacobs heading to the Lions reserve/PUP list to start the season. READ MORE ON LIONS WIRE.
