Chicago Bears Week 1 storylines: Inside Tyrique Stevenson’s arrival, Cole Kmet’s renewed purpose and Nate Davis’ availability

The Chicago Bears will open the season Sunday with a visit from the rival Green Bay Packers that could have tone-setting implications. With Aaron Rodgers in New York and the Bears confident they have upgraded their roster on both sides of the ball, a window of opportunity appears to be opening in what has been a lopsided rivalry. The Bears are a narrow favorite and hope to begin the season with an energizing victory.

As kickoff approaches, here is the inside slant on three notable storylines.

The rookie

As hard as it might be to believe, Tyrique Stevenson’s entry into football came on the offensive line. That’s where he began in the youth ranks in south Florida, as an in-the-trenches aggressor before eventually transitioning to linebacker at South Dade High School. It wasn’t until Stevenson’s sophomore year, when standout teammate D.J. Ivey suffered an ankle injury, that he began cutting his teeth in the secondary.

The Buccaneers needed emergency aid. Stevenson eagerly answered the call.

And then?

“I got tortured that whole year,” he said.

The experience was brutal. Rough enough, Stevenson said, that he was asked to switch numbers and shift to receiver. But that embarrassment also challenged him in a way in which he quickly made his mind up to become one of the best defensive backs in the country.

“I vowed from that day forward to go out and be the best version of myself at corner,” Stevenson said. “My junior year in high school is when I fell in love with it.”

Stevenson finished his high school career at Southridge High School in Miami, and true to his word, he became a high school All-American, accepting a scholarship to Georgia before later transferring back home to the University of Miami.

Stevenson looks back on his willingness to gut through the high school “torture” with appreciation.

“It gave me more room to show I can do whatever I put my mind to,” he said. “I wanted to become one of the best lockdown corners (around). I started watching Patrick Peterson highlights and it just started trickling down from there.”

That trickle-down will lead Stevenson to Soldier Field on Sunday, where he is expected to make his NFL debut as a Bears starter against the Packers. It’s a notable feat for a rookie but one that hasn’t been surprising to the coaches or front-office members at Halas Hall who fell in love with Stevenson’s physicality, ball skills and poise during the pre-draft process.

So smitten was general manager Ryan Poles that he traded a fifth-round pick to the Jacksonville Jaguars to move up five spots in the second round to select Stevenson. Now the Bears are turning him loose with great optimism as well as an understanding that it will be a roller coaster early.

That much was evident during the preseason. Stevenson showed flashes of brilliance. Most notably, against the Tennessee Titans, he blew up a bubble screen with an impressive combination of instinct and aggression. Two weeks later, he made a nifty sideline interception in coverage against Buffalo Bills receiver Gabe Davis, reading Davis’ inside release and identifying an out-breaking route.

“I was just following his hips and once he broke out, I made sure to undercut it, touch his hip and look back for the ball,” Stevenson said.

Still, in three August games, he also drew four flags — two for unnecessary roughness and two for defensive holding — getting a late-summer class on how he will need to adjust to the NFL game. He was also beaten on a 29-yard Kyle Allen-to-Quintin Morris touchdown pass in the preseason finale.

The Bears, though, remain confident that Stevenson has the ideal mental fortitude to handle the ride.

“What you like about him is his short memory,” Poles said last week. “It’s ‘All right, that (play) is gone. Onto the next one.’ ”

Earlier this summer, as highlights from training camp began populating social media, Stevenson was on the wrong end of several eye-catching plays. A deep shot from Justin Fields that was just beyond his reach and into a receiver’s hands. A spectacular DJ Moore catch here. A big gain from Chase Claypool there.

That was, of course, a selective sample size. But it was enough to send concern through hyper-reactive pockets of social media. Which was enough to rile up Stevenson’s mom and sister, who scrolled through the remarks about him and wondered about the tone.

“People were sending my mom some of the Twitter comments, and she brought those to my attention,” Stevenson said. “I was just like, ‘I really don’t worry about it. At all. I look at every day as a chance to compete and get better myself.’

“I would just reassure them. Like DJ is a really good player. That’s a vet. That’s a real NFL receiver right there. I would tell them, ‘Remember how it was in high school and college where it was like you were supposed to be the best player out there? That’s kind of how it is now. I have to start back over, rebuild myself and add some new things to the toolbox to get better. ’”

Throughout the preseason, the faucet of praise has been open for Stevenson, with just about everyone in the organization sensing he has the talent and psyche to be a true standout.

Fellow cornerback Kyler Gordon has commended Stevenson’s playmaking prowess while safety Eddie Jackson has been drawn to his swagger.

“It’s just his mindset,” Jackson said. “Like he wants to go out there and he wants to ball. That is another high-energy guy, who as a young guy is making plays and you see him fired up.”

Added Gordon: “I like having talkative players on our team, guys who are confident and willing to say something. Because that just brings more out of me, to be honest, to want to talk and be confident and rep that with them.”

Defensive coordinator Alan Williams continues to admire Stevenson’s daily buy-in.

“He does not lack for confidence,” Williams said. “I do like that. And he has the ability to take coaching and take correction. I love that he has that mental makeup. I love that he has grit. I love that he can make a mistake and bounce back.”

In 18 seasons coaching in the NFL, including a previous stint with the Bears under Lovie Smith and Marc Trestman, defensive backs coach Jon Hoke can’t remember a young cornerback who so quickly settled into a leading role with the immediate comfort to let his mouth run, then back it up with his play.

“He’s different,” Hoke said. “He’s probably different than most I’ve had. Charles (Tillman) was that way, where he was not a very friendly person on the field. But Charles didn’t say anything. Tyrique has a little more conversation than that.”

Hoke sees the value of Stevenson’s physicality and passion and has been impressed by how his confidence hasn’t wavered through the expected rookie turbulence of the spring and summer. Stevenson’s energy has remained high and his voice loud, adding to the edge the Bears are trying to create on defense.

“It’s a contagious thing. No question,” Hoke said.

Hoke also hasn’t been afraid to push the rookie, knowing Stevenson can handle the demands.

“When he picks on the small things, I know those are the things he’s picking on to make me better,” Stevenson said. “There’s that level of understanding between us. I’m not new to the old-school coaches who are really demanding. It was that way with Coach (Mario) Cristobal and Coach Manny (Diaz at Miami) and Coach (Kirby) Smart at Georgia. That’s their way of going about it to demand excellence and get you ready to play your best game.”

That’s always been Stevenson’s goal — to play his best game. As he readies for the first game of his first season, he hasn’t been afraid to set lofty goals. In the summer, as he and Jackson conversed about reenergizing the defense, Stevenson told his veteran teammate he would love to chase down NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year honors.

“He told me immediately he was going to hold me to that standard,” Stevenson said. “Where we’re from, we talk with a certain demeanor and a certain understanding. So Eddie looked me in my face and told me it was attainable. ‘You got this. And I’m going to make sure you go get it.’

“And then he said he wanted to become Defensive Player of the Year.’ I just thought, why not get both?”

For Stevenson, that approach is never going to change. Now it’s go time.

‘All about winning’

As the ink dried on his contract extension in July, as Cole Kmet considered the next $50 million chapter in his football fairy tale, he tried to process what it all meant. How a local kid from St. Viator High School and Notre Dame could be continuing his career climb in Chicago presumably through at least 2027. How he remains so dedicated to lifting the Bears back to prominence. How he’ll move forward with his second contract in hand and a pivotal season ahead for the franchise.

“This whole thing from the beginning has been a dream come true,” Kmet said.

Now the dream enters its next stage — with Kmet as one of the highest paid tight ends in the sport and with aspirations of attacking much bigger goals.

For NFL general manager and coaches, two curiosities arise when a player gets paid like Kmet just got paid. Will the reward trigger a level of fulfillment and satisfaction that opens the door for complacency? Or might it create intense pressure that pushes the player too hard to justify his new deal?

For Kmet, the former was never a worry.

“Relaxing has never been in my DNA,” he said. “I just don’t even feel like that’s a thing.”

But the latter? “That is something I’ve had to be aware of,” Kmet said. “It was something I’ve thought about and tried to make sure I don’t get caught up in.”

In spring 2020, when Kmet became the headliner of the Bears’ draft class as the No. 43 pick, his euphoria almost immediately created a wave of self-induced pressure to perform. As much as Kmet knew to squelch those feelings, they lingered for longer than he wanted.

“It’s easier said than done when you’ve grown up in this area and you know how important this all is to the whole town, to people everywhere here who live and die with the Bears,” he said. “You do feel that pressure to try to make everybody happy. I struggled my first year, year-and-a-half with that, with keeping my focus here and only here.”

But Kmet worked through it, molding a mindset and establishing a professional approach he is certain will help him in this next phase.

“Honestly,” he said, “as harsh as it may sound, it’s developing a little bit of an ‘F-it’ attitude. Like, ‘Who cares?’ You have to take a little bit of a step back and be OK with letting it happen. That’s not to say I don’t care. Because I do. I care so much. But you also don’t want to press. When you press and you’re trying too hard, that’s when bad things happen.

“You have to let the game come to you and develop that way. I’ve played this game my whole life. It comes naturally to me. I have to remember every day to just do what comes naturally to me.”

Inside Halas Hall, there is no doubt Kmet will find the right approach.

Said tight ends coach Jim Dray: “Human nature is when you reward someone the way Cole has been rewarded, they can get that mentality of, ‘Yeah, I’m good now.’ But the coolest thing about Cole is not only is he not the kind of guy who is going to throttle down but he’s going to try to punch it through the floorboard. Because he’s pushing for the next big achievement. That’s the way he’s wired.

Dray has reminded Kmet that one of the biggest reasons general manager Ryan Poles chose to invest in him the way he did was because of how “execution oriented” he is with everything he does inside the building, on the practice fields and when he’s on his own.

“He doesn’t cloud his mind with distractions,” Dray said. “He zeros in on what his job is and how he can find that execution. … When we’re just talking football, it doesn’t matter what it is — route stems, protections, blocking combinations, first down looks, third downs, goal line, short yardage — all he ever cares about is what we expect out of him and learning the ways to go out and do it.”

Kmet will bring that mentality to Soldier Field on Sunday for the start of his fourth season. He knows better than anyone on the roster what a season-opening win against the Packers could mean in terms of creating momentum and belief inside Halas Hall and across Chicago.

He remembers as a 7-year-old what the vibe was when the 2006 Bears got rolling and charged to Super Bowl XLI.

“Even in 2018, man, when the juice is going, it’s going,” Kmet said. “And however you can be part of that, we have to make it go and we have to make it happen. I want that for everybody here.”

Kmet paused and shook his head.

“You build a winner here? You become immortal,” he said. “It’s crazy. Those ‘85 guys walk on water. I’ve seen that. I still see that. And guys who aren’t from here probably don’t understand it to the same level.”

Now, though, Kmet is intent on calibrating his microfocus, of understanding his responsibilities for this next game. The Bears offensive coaches remain enamored with his versatility and ability to be a productive pass catcher for quarterback Justin Fields as well as a true asset as a blocker in the running game.

“Cole has legitimate potential to be one of the best tight ends in the league,” Dray said. “That ability and that potential are there. So that’s our vision. Now he has to go do it. And he understands what that means. It’s not like we’re coming out here just rolling the ball around. He wants to be the best and he works that way.”

That, too, comes naturally to Kmet.

“This is all about winning,” he said. “I could care less if we throw the ball 40 times or we run it 50 or however it looks. All I care about is winning. That’s all I want here. That’s all I’ve ever wanted. My goal has always been to win the Super Bowl here.

“Getting paid is great. That was awesome. And it sets some things up for my family and that’s fantastic. But my ultimate goal here is to experience the Super Bowl.”

Now what?

When practice began Thursday afternoon at Halas Hall, guard Nate Davis was beside the practice field. In shorts and a jacket. A nonparticipant. Davis had a short conversation with coach Matt Eberflus, then spent the next two hours as an observer while the team continued its preparation for Sunday’s opener against the Packers.

The day’s formal injury report explained Davis’ lack of participation as “personal.” But that only renewed questions, just days before the season opener, about the return on investment the Bears can expect from a player the team targeted during the first wave of free agency in March, guaranteeing Davis $19.25 million on a three-year, $30 million deal.

Davis has been projected to be the starting right guard since that contract was finalized — assuming he’s available. Yet for the past four months, availability has been an issue for reasons that have been hard to pin down.

Davis stayed away from the first two weeks of organized team activities, noting later that he was confident in his ability to train and prepare away from team facilities. Then he was sidelined in the second week of training camp and missed 11 of the Bears’ 16 August practices for reasons the team would not disclose.

During a six-minute back-and-forth with reporters Aug. 14, Davis declined to shed much light on what had been keeping him off the field but said the missed practice time was frustrating.

“I’d rather be out there. But it is what it is,” he said. “It’s not the easiest thing.”

Asked for an explanation on why he was sidelined, Davis passed.

“Nothing I really want to talk about, respectfully,” he said. “What really matters is that I’m back now and I just want to move forward.”

Last week, general manager Ryan Poles was asked about Davis’ in-and-out summer and insinuated there was more than just an injury issue at play. “It was a combination of things,” Poles said. “But I feel like he’s in a better place now.”

Poles expressed optimism that Davis was headed in the right direction and emphasized that when the veteran had been on the practice field, he looked like the player the Bears believed they were signing in the spring. Still, the uncertainty as to Davis’ dependability and availability has been concerning.

“I’m confident we’re going to be in a good place,” Poles said. “As Coach said the other day, in football you do have to play football. You have to practice football. He’s doing well now. But knocking that rust off and getting going, that’s going to be the key.”

Eberflus offered his hopeful spin last week as well, noting that he coached against Davis in the AFC South for three seasons from 2019-21 and was consistently impressed.

“I know what kind of player he is,” Eberflus said. “I’ve seen what kind of player he is and the intensity he brings to the line. When he’s been in (for us), he has looked great. … This process will take care of itself. He’ll be ready to go. From my past experiences with him, he’s our kind of guy.”

Kickoff against the Packers is in two days. It will mark the beginning of a big test for Davis to be available and then be productive over the next several months. To this point, though, his time with the Bears has created far more questions than answers, and the team is left to take a leap of faith as a pivotal season begins.