Following a grueling offseason that had its share of challenges amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Chicago Bears finally hit the practice field at Halas Hall with the start of training camp.
There are a lot of question marks for the Bears ahead of the 2020 season, ranging from position battles to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. And with the start of training camp, we’re going to start seeing those answers become more clear.
Here are six things to watch at the start of Bears training camp.
1. The QB competition
The quarterback battle between Mitchell Trubisky and Nick Foles has been the talk of the offseason for the Bears, and it’s certainly only going to heat up at the start of training camp. Given that training camp will be the only reps for head coach Matt Nagy to evaluate Trubisky and Foles, it’s certainly not going to be an easy task to make the right decision given the shortcomings of this 2020 season.
Nagy said they’re going to be evaluating Trubisky and Foles on every single play — not just their throws. They’ll be looking at every check at the line of scrimmage, how they get in and out of the huddle and how they react to specific plays in practice. Evaluating these quarterbacks in training camp alone certainly isn’t ideal, but it’s all they have to go off at this point.
2. How the Bears deal with loss of NT Eddie Goldman
The Bears suffered a brutal blow to their defense with the loss of nose tackle Eddie Goldman, who opted out of the 2020 season due to health and safety concerns about COVID-19. Goldman has been one of the team’s most underrated players, and his absence creates a significant hole in the middle of the defensive line.
Defensive tackle John Jenkins, who returned for his second stint with the Bears, was the in-house favorite to take over for Goldman. But he was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list, which leaves the Bears searching for a nose tackle in training camp. Obviously getting Jenkins back would be big, or Chicago could choose to look elsewhere in free agency for guys like Damon Harrison or Mike Daniels.
3. Roster battles in the secondary
The competition at quarterback isn’t the only roster battle that will be going on in training camp. In fact, there are two starting jobs in the secondary up for grabs at cornerback and safety following the departures of Prince Amukamara and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix. When it comes to the vacant strong safety job, it’s going to come down to free-agent acquisition Tashaun Gipson and Deon Bush, although Gipson should have the edge.
But cornerback is more complicated. Even with the release of former CFL star Tre Roberson, who suffered a broken foot in the offseason, rookie Jaylon Johnson will the battle the likes of Kevin Toliver and free-agent addition Artie Burns for the starting job opposite Kyle Fuller. But, like with the QB battle, the lack of reps will certainly hurt these secondary battles.
4. How the rookies get up to speed
There’s no substitute for experience, especially for rookies entering the NFL. And, unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, rookies across the NFL haven’t had a chance to get some valuable work in with their new teams during rookie minicamp and organized team activities.
Bears rookies reported to training camp about two weeks ago after an entirely virtual offseason spent learning the playbook and not getting on-field work in. Although tight end Cole Kmet did get some work in with Trubisky this offseason. But for someone like Johnson, who has a good chance at starting as a rookie, the lack of reps certainly hurts. It’ll be interesting to hear how these rookies acclimate now that they’ll get some on-field work in.
5. Competition at kicker
For the second straight season, the Bears will have competition at kicker at training camp. Although unlike last year’s circus, this battle seems to already have an expected outcome. Last year, Eddy Pineiro won the starting job over Elliott Fry and put together a respectable rookie season. Pineiro connected on 23-of-28 field goals (82.1%) and 27-of-29 extra points. But he also had a rough stretch where he went 3-of-7 on field goals in the middle of the season.
Chicago brought in competition for Pineiro in undrafted rookie Ramiz Ahmed, who last kicked for Nevada, where he connected on 15 of 20 field goals (75%). The Bears want competition at multiple positions. But even when Chicago signed Ahmed, there was a feeling that the job was Pineiro’s to lose.
6. How Bears handle safety and health concerns with COVID-19
It’s obvious that this 2020 season is going to be unlike any other in the history of the NFL. Given the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bears and the rest of the league have already had to deal with some setbacks that have affected their offseason and preparation for the upcoming season. Whether it’s losing valuable offseason reps for their quarterbacks and rookies or undrafted rookies that won’t get a chance to prove themselves in preseason, it’s certainly been a difficult time.
Given the COVID-19 outbreaks among a couple teams in MLB, it’s going to be interesting to see how the Bears and the NFL handle any possible complications that could arise with the COVID-19 pandemic. Especially when the pads get on and these teams get to hitting.
