The Chicago Bears completed their ninth practice of training camp and their third in full pads Saturday morning at Halas Hall.
The team continues to deal with a lengthy list of injuries and will welcome the Miami Dolphins to town next week for a pair of crossover practices before the teams meet at Soldier Field for Satuday’s preseason opener.
After Saturday’s practice and interview sessions in Lake Forest, here are four things we learned.
1. Doug Pederson is visiting Bears camp for a few days and was back in attendance Saturday.
Pederson was first spotted on the sideline of Bears practice on Friday morning and was back again Saturday. After leading the Philadelphia Eagles to a triumph in Super Bowl LII at the end of the 2017 season, Pederson was fired by the organization in January and is out of football for the first time in forever.
With free time on his hands, Pederson decided to scratch his football itch this weekend with a reunion in Lake Forest with Bears coach Matt Nagy. Pederson and Nagy coached together under Andy Reid for six seasons — from 2010 to 2012 with the Eagles and from 2013-2015 with the Kansas City Chiefs.
“We were hip-to-hip, hand-in-hand for every practice for six years in the world we were in,” Nagy said.
As a result, their bond and connection remains strong, allowing them to make the most of their time together.
“We watch some tape and it’s good to just talk head football coach stuff,” Nagy said Saturday morning. “I like listening to some ideas and thoughts that he has — whether they’re practice ideas, schedule ideas, gameday stuff. For me it’s part of that continuing ed. I respect who he is and how he does things. The guy won a Super Bowl.”
For Pederson?
“It allows him to get the juice going and be around football,” Nagy said. “I’m sure this won’t be the only camp that he shows up at.”
2. Add inside linebacker Roquan Smith to the Bears’ growing and concerning list of injuries.
Smith was held out of Saturday morning’s practice after injuring his groin Friday. The inside linebacker had been having a terrific camp but now must shift to recovery mode with the team likely to take a cautious approach.
“We’re working through the timeline on that,” Nagy said.
Smith’s absence left the Bears’ first-unit defense looking quite different from the team hopes it will look for the season opener a month from now.
Veterans Khalil Mack, Akiem Hicks and Danny Trevathan were given the day off from practice. Safeties Tashaun Gipson (groin) and Eddie Jackson (hamstring) remain out as well. And nose tackle Eddie Goldman is still out after testing positive for COVID-19 earlier in the week. Of the Bears’ projected 11 starters for Week 1, only cornerbacks Jaylon Johnson and Kindle Vildor, edge rusher Robert Quinn and defensive end Bilal Nichols were able to practice Saturday.
Quinn returned to the field after missing three practices this week with a back issue, but was significantly limited in what he was able to do.
Jackson, meanwhile, has been on the non-football injury list since camp began and his return to practice may still be a way off.
“I don’t know how soon he’ll be back,” Nagy said.
The Bears coach did stress that he was “not worried one ounce” about the amount of practice time or preseason game reps Jackson gets this month. The goal for the Bears is to have Jackson at 100% for the Sept. 12 opener in Los Angeles against the Rams.
3. Allen Robinson is loving the connection and timing he is developing with quarterback Andy Dalton.
The Bears’ best receiver has been thrilled about his opportunity to unite with a quarterback who has 10 years of NFL experience, a dynamic that is allowing Robinson to communicate on a more advanced level.
Robinson and Dalton are in constant dialogue about the timing of the passing game, getting on the same page as far what the quarterback’s rhythm needs to be with specific routes and on certain plays, and bouncing thoughts back and forth on how to modify things when necessary.
“Typically after every play, completion or no completion, I’m making sure I’m where Andy wants me,” Robinson said. “It’s been very smooth. … He’s taken a lot of snaps. He’s played a lot of football in this league. (I can tap into) the things he sees, the things he likes. It may be how this certain route was run, how that route is ran. It really helps you play free as a receiver just knowing that OK, this is what he wants.”
Robinson also acknowledged that he feels more freedom to speak up with how he likes to run certain routes or attack certain techniques from opposing defensive backs.
“Things like that, he adjusts to well,” Robinson said. “If there’s something I say where I want to run something like this or I have run it like this and feel most comfortable doing it a certain kind of way, he’s a person who can adapt very easily.”
Nagy has been impressed with the assertiveness Robinson has shown in providing input.
“He’s been more vocal than probably he has been in the last three years,” Nagy said. “And that’s a good thing. I love that.”
4. In other injury news, the Bears were still without a half-dozen offensive linemen Saturday morning.
Rookie Teven Jenkins missed his ninth consecutive practice with back tightness that has been bothering him for the past few weeks. Germain Ifedi (hip flexor) is still on the physically-unable-to-perform list. James Daniels has a quadriceps injury that has kept him out since late in Tuesday’s practice. Larry Borom and Lachavious Simmons both remain in concussion protocol. Elijah Wilkinson is on the reserve/COVID-19 list.
That gave Nagy only nine offensive linemen at practice Saturday, including a patchwork first unit that included starters Sam Mustipher and Cody Whitehair flanked by fill-ins at left tackle (Arlington Hambright), right tackle (Alex Bars) and right guard (Dieter Eiselen).
Nagy acknowledged before Saturday’s practice that he has had to make adjustments to his plans, reducing the workload somewhat on his depleted offensive line with a trickle-down effect occurring for other players deeper down the roster.
“It’s just being smart with that and making sure we do everything the right way,” Nagy said.
Sign up for alerts on your phone, desktop and inbox to stay current with the latest news
Sign up for our sports newsletter, delivered daily each morning