Bears make necessary roster move prompted by the selection of their fourth round draft pick

The Bears drafted Gill with the 255th overall pick in the seventh round of the 2022 NFL Draft class. Gill was a part of general manager Ryan Poles' first draft class and is the third member of the class to already be off the team two years later.

Gill had a rough 2023 sophomore season, finishing last in the league with a net average of 38.0 on 67 punts. Gill also had just 18 punts land inside the 20-yard line, the sixth fewest among punters with 30+ punts during the season.

The writing was all over the wall for Gill's future with the Bears after the team used a considerably high pick to draft his replacement. Taylor was the first special teams player selected in the draft and the second highest punter drafted since 2012.

While appearing on The Pat McAfee Show earlier on Wednesday, Poles was asked about the decision to use such a high pick on Taylor and gave an honest answer.

"I didn't expect him to get much further [in the draft]," Poles said. "Really the thought process there is to make anyone we're playing really uncomfortable... I love taking advantage of field position and that should help us with points as well. I think he's gonna add to our team and make it uncomfortable for any team we're going against."

Taylor will certainly be able to accomplish that for the Bears and will be a major upgrade from what the team previously had at the position. Taylor pinned 39 of his 80 punts in 2023 inside the 20-yard line and broke the single-season NCAA record with an average of 48.2 yards per punt.