One day after Roquan Smith declared he would play Sunday in London against the Raiders, coach Matt Nagy left the second-year linebacker’s status for this weekend’s game unclear.
“Again, I’m going to leave it at completely personal issue,” Nagy said Thursday before the Bears practice at Halas Hall. “I’m not going to get into any details on that.”
Smith was a full participant in practice for the second consecutive day after he missed last Sunday’s win over the Vikings due to an unknown personal issue.
The Bears have remained mum about the personal issue that made Smith miss a game for the first time in his short career. And when Smith met with the media on Wednesday, he declined to share any details regarding his personal matter, but said he’s moved past it.
“I’m good,” he said. “It was personal. It’s behind me. Just looking forward to getting better today out at practice and going back to work with my guys. I’m past the situation now. Just addressing it because I have to.”
Whether Smith will even board the Bears’ flight to London remains unknown at the moment. That also rings true for defensive lineman Akiem Hicks (right knee) and wide receiver Taylor Gabriel (concussion), both of whom didn’t participate in Thursday’s practice.
“We’re still working through that,” Nagy said.
Nagy said Hicks, who missed the Vikings game, has shown signs of improvement this week, but he’ll remain a game-time decision.
“He’s getting better,” Nagy said. “This is a day-to-day thing with him, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed.”
Playing without Hicks is a “big loss” for the Bears’ defense, but defensive lineman Nick Williams is prepared to step up in his place if it’s needed.
“Akiem Hicks is a great player, great talent in this league, replacing him, you can’t do it,” Williams said. “He’s a Pro Bowl-caliber player. And we would love for him to be out there with us, but if he can’t go, just like Nagy said earlier, it’s next man up and we just got to go out and put our best football on the field.”
This and that
With Gabriel out for the foreseeable future, look to Javon Wims getting more opportunities.
Wims had four catches for 56 yards in the Bears’ game against the Vikings.
Nagy was impressed with the way Wims carried himself last Sunday.
“Last year, Javon was kind of learning the pro game,” Nagy said. “Now he’s getting more confidence, he knows what routes he’s good at, we know what routes he’s good at, and he fits in well.”
- Asked what London landmarks he wanted to see, Kyle Long said: “I want to see what the end zones are like at Tottenham Stadium.”
