VIDEO: Chicago Bears Rookie Punter Broke The Internet By Punting The Ball To “Space” At Minicamp

Tory Taylor (Photo via @DZedermanTwitter)
Football fans were saying the same about Chicago Bears rookie punter after a video of his powerful leg at minicamp quickly went viral.

Tory Taylor, who turns 27 on July 10, was drafted by both the Bears and the CFL’s BC Lions. Chicago selected the Melbourne, Australia native with a fourth-round pick (No. 122 overall) in last month’s NFL Draft.

ESPN Chicago’s Danny Zederman shared a viral video of Taylor displaying his incredible leg at the Bears’ rookie minicamp session on Friday. Just look at this near-perfect punt from the 2023 Ray Guy Award winner:

After drafting Taylor, the Bears waived Trenton Gill, who spent the previous two years as the team’s punter. The 25-year-old Gill averaged 46.1 yards per punt (67 total punts) last season and remains a free agent.

The Bears Have A Promising Set Of Rookies, Including Tory Taylor Entering 2024

Chicago has been mired in mediocrity over the last 15 years, but they’re finally on track to emerge as a long-term Super Bowl contender. And it’s thanks largely to the grade-A draft that GM Ryan Poles put together in Detroit.

For starters, the Bears used the No. 1 pick (courtesy of the Carolina Panthers from the Bryce Young trade) on USC quarterback and 2022 Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams. Regarded as one of the best QB prospects of the 21st century, Williams has the skill set to be the franchise-changing signal-caller the Bears haven’t had in the Super Bowl era.

Chicago also used the No. 9 pick on can’t-miss Washington WR prospect Rome Odunze. If there weren’t so many QB-needy teams in this year’s draft, Odunze would have been a top-five draft selection.

And if Taylor can lock down the Bears’ punting job, this will have the makings of being one of the greatest individual team draft classes in recent memory.