8 takeaways from ninth practice at Bears training camp
The Chicago Bears returned to the practice field at Halas Hall for their ninth practice of training camp, which was once again another intense, padded practice.
It was a closed practice on Saturday, but there were plenty of updates from the media in attendance. Despite a short-handed offense, it was a solid day from quarterback Justin Fields. But there were a number of notable injuries both on offense and defense.
There was plenty to digest from practice and press conferences with head coach Matt Eberflus, offensive tackle Teven Jenkins, running back Khalil Herbert and linebacker Nicholas Morrow.
Following Saturday’s practice, here’s a look at what we learned from the ninth day of Bears training camp:
The (limited) return of Teven Jenkins
AP Photo/David Banks
Saturday brought some good news as Bears offensive tackle Teven Jenkins returned to practice after missing seven straight practices with an undisclosed injury.
Jenkins was limited — and he participated in individual drills only — but head coach Matt Eberflus expects him to get back into the swing things. Jenkins said he expects to see some reps during team drills on Saturday.
Jenkins said his extended absence was “for the betterment of my health. We had to make sure I was 100%.”
Eberflus’ message for Jenkins as he makes his return?
“Go out there and compete,” he said. “Everything is open. Dive in.”
There was a lot more to Jenkins’ press conference, where he addressed a number of topics from his health, reports of his clashing with coaches and trade rumors. We broke it down here:
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WR Byron Pringle dealing with quad injury, no timetable for his return
Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports
The Bears were without one of their top wide receivers in Byron Pringle, who’s dealing with a quad injury that will force him to miss some time.
While rookie wideout Velus Jones Jr., also sidelined, is considered day-to-day, Eberflus said Pringle will be out “a little bit longer.” Eberflus said there’s no timetable for Pringle’s return, but he doesn’t expect it to carry over into the regular season.
“I don’t think so,” Eberflus said. “It’s longer than day to day, so that’s all I can say, but no real timetable to return. But we’re hopeful that it’s a good situation for us.”
The receiver room is wide open behind Darnell Mooney, and Pringle has been considered the second option behind him.
N'Keal Harry suffered apparent left ankle injury
Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports
Already down two of their top wideouts in Pringle and Jones, the Bears suffered another blow at wide receiver when N’Keal Harry went down with an apparent left ankle injury.
Harry was tackled by safety Eddie Jackson and linebacker Nicholas Morrow during the start of a team period. He had difficulty putting any weight on his leg and was helped to the locker room.
“I don’t know much; I just saw him come down,” Eberflus said. “I saw the play and I don’t really know much from there. We’re obviously going to do the evaluation and then once I get that, we can get it back to you.”
Here’s hoping it’s not as serious as it initially looked to the media in attendance.
More shuffling along the offensive line
Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
The offensive line continues to be a moving part this summer, and there were some interesting developments on Saturday due to injuries and veterans resting.
The most notable was rookie Braxton Jones, who Eberflus noted is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury. With Jones sidelined, it was Shon Coleman getting a look at left tackle in his place.
Veterans Cody Whitehair and Riley Reiff practiced, but they didn’t participated in team drills. Rookie Ja’Tyre Carter, who had been splitting reps with Michael Schofield at right guard, got a look at left guard in Whitehair’s place. Larry Borom, who had been rotating with Reiff at right tackle, was back to taking all of the reps at right tackle.
Sam Mustipher was back taking starting reps at center while Schofield got the workload at right guard.
Concerns about wide receiver depth
AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh
Wide receiver was one of the most concerning position groups heading into training camp — and that was before the rash of injuries that’s struck the Bears at the position.
The Bears are without three of their top five wideouts with injuries to Pringle (quad, more than day-to-day), Jones (undisclosed, day-to-day) and Harry (ankle, unknown).
That means Fields is essentially working with just two wideouts who should make the roster at this point: Darnell Mooney and Equanimeous St. Brown. There were already concerns about the receiver group given there are a lot of unknowns outside of Mooney.
Granted, we’re early into training camp and there are still more than five weeks until the start of the regular season, where the hope is those receivers are back and ready to go.
Injuries allowing more opportunities for roster bubble players
Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
The Bears are dealing with injuries at several positions, including wide receiver and cornerback, that are allowing some roster bubble players opportunities to make an impression.
With Chicago down three of their top five wideouts, it was veteran Tajae Sharpe who took advantage of his opportunities during Saturday’s practice. He caught some tough passes in traffic both in 11-on-11 and 7-on-7.
“When you have a guy step up like that, that’s awesome,” Eberflus said. “That’s what it’s all about, right? Guys go down, guys step up and Tajae did a nice job. We’re excited to have him back. He’s back now and he looks good in the drills, and like you said, made a couple nice plays.”
The Bears are also down three notable cornerbacks in rookie Kyler Gordon, Kindle Vildor and Duke Shelley, which opened the door for Tavon Young, Lamar Jackson and Greg Stroman Jr. to get more reps.
It’s not ideal — and the hope is those injured players get back sooner rather than later — but it’s a good opportunity for some of these players looking to prove themselves.
Bears run game has potential to be great
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There’s no doubt that running back is the strength of the Bears offense, which is a good thing considering they’re going to be leaning on them in this run-heavy scheme.
Khalil Herbert, who’s expected to see an expanded role in Year 2, praised the job that the offensive line has been doing in run blocking, and he believes that this group of running backs has the potential to be dangerous.
“We’re going to be tough to stop with the running backs we’ve got,” he said.
Herbert lauded David Montgomery, who he called a great all-around back and the “shiftiest dude I’ve every played with.” Herbert also spoke about rookie Trestan Ebner, who’s been putting on quite a show at camp so far.
“He can catch the ball really well out of the backfield, he’s really explosive,” Herbert said. “I’m excited to see what he can do because he’s a very explosive player.”
Attendance report
AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh
The Bears have been fairly healthy through the first couple of weeks of training camp, but it’s finally starting to catch up with them. Chicago had a number of notable names sidelined with injuries ranging from minor to more-than-minor.
the offense was missing a number of starters or impact players, including rookie wide receiver Velus Jones Jr. and offensive tackle Braxton Jones, who are both considered day-to-day with undisclosed injuries.
The Bears were once again without three notable cornerbacks in rookie Kyler Gordon, Kindle Vildor and Duke Shelley, who are nursing undisclosed injuries.
As mentioned above, Pringle was sidelined with a quad injury that’s longer than day-to-day while Harry left practice early after suffering a left ankle injury.
Also not practicing: Defensive tackle Angelo Blackson, wide receiver Dante Pettis, tight end James O’Shaughnessy, offensive tackle Julién Davenport and linebackers Noah Dawkins and C.J. Avery.
The good news is Jenkins made his return, where he’ll be looking to make a strong impression and earn a starting job. Robert Quinn, who wasn’t at Friday’s practice, had an excused absence and was back out there on Saturday.
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