Chicago Bears training camp is here at last. For the first time in months, fans will get to hear about some real football. With practices set to begin shortly, GM Ryan Pace and head coach Matt Nagy appeared before the media in their first press conference. They started by expressing their excitement over what’s happened and especially what’s to come.
Nagy promised that the camp would be a physical one. His goal is to keep players healthy but also knows a key to that is toughening them up before the season. He also stated that his goal moving forward is to emphasize teaching with his coaches and situational football with his players. He wants everybody on the same page.
Pace, on the other hand, stated that he’s conscious of the concerns regarding the pass rush situation and expects to continue efforts towards improving it. He’s also optimistic former first round pick Kevin White can continue to ascend if he can carry his strong offseason into camp. In the end, fans were met with two big pieces of news.
One bad, and one good.
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Bad news: Roquan Smith remains unsigned
Ryan Pace says the Bears are optimistic that Roquan Smith will be here “soon.”
— Kevin Fishbain (@kfishbain) July 19, 2018
It’s not the most welcome news that prized first round draft pick Roquan Smith could miss the start of training camp. The #8 overall pick still has not signed his rookie contract. Until that happens he will not be allowed to practice with the team. Pace remains optimistic on the matter and understands these sort of things happen.
He’s not wrong. Several fellow first rounders including Saquon Barkley, Sam Darnold, and Mike McGlinchey also have yet to sign their deals. There’s no indication that Smith plans a lengthy holdout. It’s likely the matter has to do with language in the contract and things are progressing slowly. Mitch Trubisky also took a lot of time last year as well, signing right before practices began.
Until Smith does report, expect Nick Kwiatkoski to get the majority of his snaps on defense.
Good news: Allen Robinson and Kyle Long are ready for camp
Bears head coach Matt Nagy says it’s “full steam ahead” for Kyle Long, Allen Robinson, and Leonard Floyd.
— Mark Grote (@markgrotesports) July 19, 2018
More importantly, the Bears are getting a rare instance of great news on the health front. For a team that was ravaged by injuries during the John Fox era, Nagy reported that no players were expected to end up on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list before the start of camp. A first for this team in quite some time.
That means wide receiver Allen Robinson, guard Kyle Long and linebacker Leonard Floyd are all expected to be full go when practices begin. Robinson is coming off a torn ACL. Long endured three separate surgeries including his shoulder and ankle. Floyd suffered a knee injury last year in a collision with teammate Kyle Fuller.
Having all three back will be a huge boost for this team.
