If the lovely people of Philadelphia would ever consider applauding an opposing player, Bears tight end Trey Burton is a good candidate.
Burton clawed his way onto the Eagles’ roster as an undrafted free agent in 2014 and capped his four-year run with them by throwing helping them win a Super Bowl on one of the most legendary plays in the city’s history.
But being one of the heroes of The Philly Special might not be enough to get a warm welcome at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday.
“I have no clue,” Burton said. “They didn’t cheer for Santa, so I doubt they’ll cheer for me.”
Burton launched his career in a limited role with the Eagles and earned a four-year, $32 million contract with the Bears last year. Matt Nagy envisioned him becoming one of the best receiving tight ends in the NFL, and he turned in a career year with 54 catches, 569 yards and six touchdowns.
The only negative on his first season with the Bears was that he missed the playoff game against the Eagles, a 16-15 loss, because of a groin injury. He eventually needed sports hernia surgery.
Burton hasn’t made it all the way back from that yet. He has 14 catches for 84 yards and is only now beginning to feel right physically.
“To a degree,” he said. “I’m just happy to be out there and playing, honestly.”
Key starters rest
The Bears held some important players out for part of practice Friday, but Nagy downplayed any concerns about their availability against the Eagles.
Burton (groin), safety Eddie Jackson (hamstring), wide receiver Taylor Gabriel (shin) and defensive lineman Bilal Nichols (knee) were all limited participants. The Bears did not designate a game status for them, though, which indicates that they are fully expected to play.
Nagy said it was mainly because the Bears have practiced indoors all week due to rain and snow. He is typically cautious about certain players when it comes to practicing on turf.
Backup linebacker Isaiah Irving, who suffered a quad injury against the Chargers, was ruled out.
Student vs. Teacher
This will be Nagy’s second time going up against his former boss. While he mostly talks about Kansas City’s Andy Reid as his coaching mentor, Eagles coach Doug Pederson was the Chiefs’ offensive coordinator when Nagy was their quarterbacks coach from 2013 through ’15.
Nagy rehashed much of their history leading up to their playoff showdown in January, but reiterated how much he admires Pederson.
“We had a lot of good years together — philosophically, talking through stuff schematically. And I have a lot of respect for him. He’s obviously done a lot of good things there.
“The other thing about him that he does is you see how aggressive he is. He’s very aggressive. And he’s just himself. He really doesn’t care what other people think.”
