Chicago Bears 4th round pick Tory Taylor signs his rookie contract: 'I'm going to control the game'

LAKE FOREST, Ill. - The first member of the Chicago Bears' 2024 NFL Draft class has signed his contract.

Bears' fourth round pick and punter Tory Taylor signed a four-year deal with the team, the Bears announced Saturday morning.

Taylor texted his parents about the deal, but said they were most likely asleep because of the time difference in Australia.

"Five years ago if someone told me that I'll be staying at the podium in an NFL facility, I would've told them they're absolutely crazy," Taylor said. "Lot's come about the last three or four years."

Taylor has gone from being an Australian football rules punter to a Chicago Bear in his life. He was the 122nd overall pick in this year's draft, which is the pick the Bears acquired last year from the Eagles when Philadelphia traded up to select Jalen Carter at No. 9 overall.

The Bears chose right tackle Darnell Wright.

This weekend, Taylor kicked his first punts as a Chicago Bear during the Bears rookie mini camp. Any nerves he had were subdued thanks to Bears special teams coordinator Richard Hightower.

"Yesterday, before my first ever pun period in the NFL, coach Hightower came up to me like, 'man, you're a Chicago Bear,'" Taylor said. "That really helped me settle a little bit."

Hightower spoke Saturday morning about Taylor's presence. The first thing that stood out about the punter was his mentality.

"He just wants to win," Hightower said. "No nonsense and he wants to win and he wants to do his part to help the team win."

Hightower was also impressed with Taylor's punting ability, too.

"He's as good as advertised," Hightower said. "Did a nice job yesterday. He looked comfortable."

Hightower worked with Taylor on two styles of punting during camp. The first was open field, giving him a chance to show his leg strength.

On Saturday, they did more specific punt placements.

"You've heard an analogy about him having different clubs in his bag," Hightower said. "Well, today is the day we see his wedges."

Can he be a multi-faceted weapon, though? Taylor has executed a fake punt before during his time at Iowa.

"I did throw a pass in 2021 to Sam LaPorta," Taylor said. "That's probably why we went second round, because of that one pass."

LaPorta was an NFL Second-team All-Pro at tight end for the Detroit Lions as a rookie. He also made the Pro Bowl and was on the Pro Football Writers of America's All-Rookie Team.

That pass to LaPorta came on a fourth and nine with 11:25 left in the fourth quarter of Iowa's 30-7 win over Kent State. Unfortunately, the pass only went three yards.

"We didn't get the first down," Taylor said.

Jokes aside, with the new kickoff rules the NFL has implemented, a need for power kicking and specific ball placement could mean Taylor gets some looks as a kick off specialist, too.

"He's always an option on kickoffs and the rest of the league's got to figure it out," Hightower said. "He can do some really cool things with the ball in his hand from a punt standpoint and from a kickoff standpoint."

Taylor's ability to consistently flip the field is something the Bears have not had for a few seasons. With Taylor now, his leg strength could be crucial in field positioning.

Bears rookie quarterback Caleb Williams told Taylor when Taylor was drafted that he would not be punting much with the Bears' new offense. However, getting the chance to punt is something Taylor relishes.

"I'm fortunate enough to be one of those guys on the field that has a ball in his hands, and that means, at that specific period of time, you're in control of the game," Taylor said. "Obviously, I want to win, so I'm going to control the game how I want to."