Bears Place International Exemption On P Tory Taylor

This means Taylor will not count against the 90-man offseason roster limit. As suggested in the name, each team gets an exemption for an international player. 

Teams can use an international exemption for players in the regular season but they must be on the practice squad. Taylor was Chicago’s starting punter last year. 

The team also signed CB Jeremiah Walker, a rookie free agent out of Stephen F. Austin. 

Taylor, 27, is from Melbourne, Australia, and won the Ray Guy Award in 2023 as well as being named a Unanimous All-American. He set NCAA FBS records with the most punting yards in a season at 4,479 and the highest career average at 46.3 yards per punt.

The Bears selected him with the No. 122 pick in the fourth round of the 2024 NFL Draft, making him the highest punter selected since 2019. 

In 2024, Taylor appeared in all 17 games for the Bears and punted 82 times with an average of 47.7 yards, a long punt of 68 yards, four touchbacks and 34 kicks placed inside the 20.