5 storylines to watch in Bears’ preseason opener vs. Chiefs
The Chicago Bears are hosting the Kansas City Chiefs for their preseason opener at Soldier Field, which marks the first live action of the season — even if it is only preseason.
There are no shortage of storylines to monitor heading into this contest, whether we’re talking about roster implications, the future of the team or the return of old friends.
As the Bears gear up for their preseason opener against the Chiefs, here are a few storylines we’ll be keeping an eye on.
How much we can expect to see the starters
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While a good number of NFL teams are resting their starters, we’ll get to see the Bears’ starters for a short time. Head coach Matt Eberflus said that the starters will play between 15 to 20 reps in the preseason opener — although it’ll vary by player and not everyone will play. He also noted that some will play in the 10 to 15 range, which you figure would include quarterback Justin Fields.
Chicago has been hit by a number of injuries over the last week, which means we probably won’t get to see rookies Kyler Gordon and Velus Jones Jr., as well as David Montgomery and Cole Kmet, who’ve been sidelined for a couple of days. But given the object of preseason, as far as veterans, is to get out of their healthy, perhaps that’s not such a bad thing.
Justin Fields' first live action in new offense
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Saturday’s preseason opener will provide us our first — albeit, limited — live look at second-year quarterback Justin Fields in Luke Getsy’s offense. Fields’ development remains the most important thing this season, and it’s the key to the team’s overall success moving forward. While Fields isn’t surrounded by the flashiest supporting cast — or healthiest, at the moment — this new offense should do wonders for him. Getsy built this offense around Fields’ strengths, so it’s safe to say it’s the anti-Matt Nagy offense.
Fields has shown incremental progress this summer as he gets a firmer grasp on he offense. And lately, he’s been doing it in less-than-ideal circumstances, as he’s without some of his top wideouts in Byron Pringle, Velus Jones Jr. and N’Keal Harry, as well as tight end Cole Kmet. Fields has shown improvement in several areas, including his leadership, footwork, throwing motion and overall decision-making. Now, we’ll get a chance to glimpse it (briefly) in live action.
Starting offensive line play
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The Bears insist that the offensive line is far from solidified, but they’ve also made it blatantly clear what the starting combination should look like come Week 1. For the last week, Chicago’s offensive line has been the same during practice: Braxton Jones (LT), Cody Whitehair (LG), Sam Mustipher (C), Michael Schofield (RG), Riley Reiff (RT). Lucas Patrick will replace Mustipher at center once he’s healthy.
We’ll get our first look at what appears to be the Bears’ starting offensive line for limited action on Saturday, where they’ll be tasked with keeping Fields upright. The offensive line has been solid during training camp, now we’ll see how that translates to live action. Last year’s rookies Teven Jenkins and Larry Borom will also be making a push for playing time, and they’re sure to get plenty of it with the second-team offense.
Position battles to keep an eye on
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We won’t see the starters long during Saturday’s preseason game, which means players further down the depth chart will get their opportunities to shine. There are a number of position battles that will be on display, starting with a rather thing wide receiver group. Darnell Mooney is the only sure things, but Byron Pringle, Velus Jones Jr. and Equanimeous St. Brown are safe bets to make the roster. Which leaves two roster spots up for grabs for guys like Tajae Sharpe, Isaiah Coulter and Dazz Newsome, who should see plenty of reps throughout the preseason.
Elsewhere, there’s a battle brewing for roster spots at cornerback. Like at receiver, the cornerback group is banged up with Kyler Gordon, Kindle Vildor, Tavon Young, Duke Shelley and Thomas Graham Jr. all sidelined. That gives players like Lamar Jackson and rookie Jaylon Jones opportunities to make a push for a starting job. Matt Adams and Joe Thomas are battling for the starting SAM linebacker position, which could come down to preseason performance.
Matt Nagy's return
AP Photo/David Banks
You didn’t think we forgot about arguably the game’s biggest non-factor storyline. Former Bears head coach Matt Nagy is gearing up for his first return to Chicago since he was fired by the organization back in January. Nagy was canned after a disappointing 6-11 season, but most notably because of his handling of hopeful franchise quarterback Justin Fields. Now, Nagy is back in Kansas City with his mentor Andy Reid, where he’s serving as a senior offensive assistant and quarterbacks coach for the Chiefs.
All eyes — or should I say ears — will be on the Soldier Field crowd, who didn’t have an issue voicing their displeasure of Nagy last season before he was fired. While the Bears have moved on with a new regime, something tells me some fans are going to let Nagy hear it one last time. Let’s just say it’s no coincidence that the NFL scheduled this game in Chicago or that it’s airing live on NFL Network.
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