Minutes after leaving the practice field with what looked like a potentially serious ankle injury on Aug. 10 at Olivet Nazarene, Bears wide receiver Anthony Miller assured fans via Twitter it was nothing to worry about.
‘I’m good,” Miller tweeted, adding a thumbs-up emoji.
As it turns out, he was right. Miller returned to practice on a limited basis Monday, and is confident he will be 100 percent healthy for the season opener against the Packers on Sept. 5 at Soldier Field.
“I knew I was all right when I got up [after suffering the injury] and started walking on it,” Miller said Monday after practice at Halas Hall, “because usually if you mess it up that bad, then you can’t put any pressure it, and I was able to walk off just fine by myself. So I knew it was going to be all right.”
Miller said he “felt good” and played without pain Monday. That still leaves two questions the promising 2018 second-round draft pick from Memphis will have to wait until the season begins to answer: 1) How far behind is he after missing two weeks of practice, especially after missing the entire offseason program following shoulder surgery? And 2) Can he stay healthy through a 16-game NFL season?
“I know everything’s going to click,” Miller said, “because we work so hard just to make things right and we go over things during meetings — so it’s not just on the field. Our chemistry I think is going to be on-point this year.”
With the Bears seemingly deep at wide receiver, Miller’s absence has not been lamented daily. But he’s expected to be a key cog in the presumed next step for Mitch Trubisky & Co. after an impressive, if abbreviated rookie season — 33 receptions for 423 yards and a team-high seven touchdown receptions.
The Bears are looking for Miller to mature as a player as well as a receiver in his second season, hoping he’ll follow the lead of veterans Allen Robinson and Taylor Gabriel in dedicating himself to mastering the small details it takes to be successful in the NFL.
“We’re not worried about his confidence. He’s had that since he got here,” wide receivers coach Mike Furrey said. “The biggest thing I’ve noticed is he’s slowed stuff down. He gets in the huddle. He’s heard plays before. He’s not a jackrabbit running all over the place. He’s becoming more consistent, which is what we challenged him to do.”
Coach Matt Nagy emphasized the importance of Miller learning the offense after missing practice because of the injury.
“Nothing has changed with him. When he’s on the field, he’s a playmaker. He’s a weapon for us,” Nagy said. “But having him out the last several weeks, we’ve got to make sure he stays inside that playbook and understands the details of the offense. That’s our focus, making sure he does that. Once you do that in the game, then your volume of plays starts to go up a little bit.”
That’s fine by Miller. “What he means by that is studying the playbook, making sure I know where I’m supposed to be at all times,” Miller said.
“I’ve been doing it. I haven’t had much trouble with any of the plays, especially since I was here last year and I [pretty much know the system. So everything they throw at me, I’m taking it pretty well.”
The upbeat and self-confident Miller is plenty motivated to become a part of something great.
“I feel like we’ve got a lot to prove,” Miller said. “This is just me speaking as an offensive player — I think the ‘D’ carried us tremendously last year. We need to step it up and play our part. We have all the tools at each position. We’re loaded. I just think we’ve got to step it up this year.”
