The Chicago Bears are making a handful of players available to media via Zoom calls this week as they conclude what has been a nine-week virtual offseason program.
Inside linebacker Roquan Smith on Wednesday said he’s 100% after surgery late last season to repair a torn pectoral muscle. Coach Matt Nagy said the health of his players, who missed on-field work this spring because of restrictions brought about by the coronavirus pandemic, will be his top priority when they report to training camp, scheduled for July 28. Here are three more things we learned.
1. Tight end Demetrius Harris believes he has untapped potential as a receiver.
The first move the Bears made in overhauling the tight end position this offseason was signing Harris, who played for the Kansas City Chiefs from 2014-2018, to a one-year, $1.65 million contract in February, two days after the Brown cut him. Harris, a former basketball standout at the Wisconsin-Milwaukee, is a Y tight end, so he’s more known for his blocking ability than as a pass catcher.
He caught 15 passes for 149 yards and three touchdowns with the Cleveland Browns last season, and his career high is 18 receptions in 2017.
“That’s something I know I can do,” Harris said. “And I know a coach that believed in me and knows I can do it too. (He has) seen me through the years that I’ve been coming up in K.C. and has seen the growth in me. So yeah, I most definitely can do it and I’m going to do it. …I am ready for anything that comes my way.”
Harris’ familiarity with the scheme can help in a number of ways. The Bears can devote more reps in practice to second-round draft pick Cole Kmet, who is also a Y tight end. Harris, 28, can share his knowledge with the rookie too.
“I was a No. 2 tight end since I’ve been in the league, and I feel like I really haven’t gotten an opportunity,” Harris said. “But at the end of the day, I was under (Travis) Kelce, so I learned a lot from him. We both came in at the same time, so he mastered the offense and I saw how he mastered it, and he did little tweaks in the offense. So I know all the little tweaks and all the good stuff to be successful in this offense.
“I most definitely always help. I’m always a helping person. So whatever information I’ve got, I give away. Because the more people you can help, man, the more people can be successful with you. I love to help. I’m all open arms and the mentor and will tell (Kmet) what I know and what I’ve learned from other players to help him prepare faster than probably what I did or what somebody else did. It’s good to spread the information that I know.”
The chance to return to an Andy Reid offensive system appealed to Harris, who believes that is best for his career
“I feel like I got a lot in the tank,” he said. “I haven’t had real injuries. With this offense that I know, I love. I’m so happy to be back in this offense because I was in and out. I just learned from the best, learned from Coach Reid, him teaching it because he used to teach the install. And then I know (Matt) Nagy got it. He showed it. Just coming in to help and be the spark and do whatever they need to me to do. Basically, that’s what I need to do.”
2. The addition of veteran defensive back Jordan Lucas should help mitigate the loss of linebackers Nick Kwiatkowski and Kevin Pierre-Louis via free agency.
Kwiatkowski and Pierre-Louis were core special teams contributors, and the Bears signed Lucas to a one-year, $1 million contract with the idea he would bolster that phase.
Lucas, 26, was a special teams standout the last two seasons for the Chiefs, so he will be learning a similar system under Chris Tabor. Lucas was the personal protector on punts for the Chiefs — the player who makes the protection calls. He was used there because he was a disruptive cover man in the middle of the field. On punt returns, he was used as a cornerback, often matched against the opponent’s top gunner.
“A lot of familiarity,” Lucas said when asked about the two systems. “Pretty much gonna be doing the same things I’ve been doing my whole career, special teams-wise. Coach Tabor, he has a good scheme, and just from watching film and again playing the Bears last year, I know the personnel fairly well. I’m excited to see how I fit in with the guys and where this season leads us.”
Lucas revealed that Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub had a special name for Bears return man Cordarrelle Patterson, who was selected to the Pro Bowl last season for his work as a gunner.
“He calls him ‘Crazy Horse,’ ” Lucas said. “So whenever we played them the last two years or so, it would just be a huge emphasis on him — very big emphasis on him. We didn’t want him running all over us because we know his capabilities, so we want to put him in as many tough positions as we can.”
3. When Buster Skrine entered the league in 2011, the lockout wiped out offseason programs — not unlike time missed by the coronavirus pandemic. So he’s qualified to offer advice to rookie cornerbacks Jaylon Johnson and Kindle Vildor.
“Football is probably one of the hardest sports to get in shape just because you can run 1,000 sprints every day, but once you get on the field definitely as a DB, we react to every play,” the veteran nickel back said. “So the first week of camp you’re super sore. There is muscle memory for change of direction, but for us, we never know where we’re going. I just told them if they can get on the field and do footwork at least four times a week for an extended period of time, 30 minutes or longer, that’ll help them come to training camp in shape and help them with the soreness a little bit. But the biggest part is mental just to know your playbook and just know you can line up on the field and give yourself a chance to compete.
“Both of them seem very smart. Just not to me in the classroom, but we have to do things over Zoom, and Coach asks a lot of questions and a lot of times they get the questions right. “
Skrine, who joined the Bears last year in free agency, believes they can be better defensively simply because they will be with coordinator Chuck Pagano for a second season, putting the group in position to progress. Of course, that didn’t happen for Year 2 in the offense in 2019, but the Bears have high-caliber players on defense who have a track record of success.
“The way it can be better in 2020 is — I think we were pretty solid last year — there’s always room for improvement,” Skrine said. “Just the whole defense being under Chuck Pagano for the second year, naturally we will be a better defense. He did a great job last year bringing everybody together. We’ll just build off last year.”