Chicago Bears News: Training Camp Day Five Recap
The Chicago Bears have a day off on Tuesday, a part of the new CBA’s schedule that won’t let the coaching staff overwork the guys too much. Somewhere, Papa Bear is rolling over in his grave. Five days into Training Camp and we’re starting to get a pretty good sense for this team and some of the major storylines to follow the rest of the preseason as we catch up on the latest Chicago Bears news.
The Kevin White mystery continues
Raise your hand if you expected top draft choice Kevin White to be on the PUP list with a mysterious shin injury this far along into training camp. Me neither. What’s more concerning is John Fox doesn’t have a timeline for his return and it may not even be in Bourbonnais.
"Coach John Fox continues to be vague with his health updates on White. Yet after saying last week the shin injury that put White on the physically-unable-to-perform list was “not a long-term problem,” Fox seemed far less enthusiastic Monday when asked if he expected the first-round pick to be practicing at any point before the Bears leave Bourbonnais for good Aug. 16."
White is a raw talent to begin with, so missing these important reps in camp is critical. For every Odell Beckham Jr who missed camp and the first few weeks of the season and bounced back to have a terrific season, there are plenty of guys who effectively lost their rookie seasons because they just couldn’t get into the flow of the offense. Heck, look no further than Alshon Jeffery who didn’t exactly set the league on fire in his rookie campaign.
Inside Linebacker Position Battle
This is probably one of the most interesting position battles to follow along as training camp and especially the preseason games go forward. Somehow Shea McClellin, who most were ready to write off, is calling the signals for the defense, something he’s still learning on the job:
"“You’re kind of the quarterback of the defense,” McClellin said. “And that’s something I’ve never really been good at per se. I’m not the most vocal guy, but it’s definitely something I’m trying to embrace and get better at.”"
Christian Jones, an undrafted free agent, is making the most of his opportunities at an inside linebacker spot.
Then you’ve got Jonathan Bostic, a former second round draft pick who missed a lot of the offseason program, who’s just starting to raise a few eyebrows on as he starts to work his way back. And we haven’t even mentioned Mason Foster, a veteran free agent pickup who’s got experience in a 3-4 defense.
What makes this group interesting is that backup linebackers are the lifeblood of your special teams units. Besides what these guys do on defense, it’s what they do covering kicks and punts that could define how the final roster shakes out.
It All Comes Back to Cutler
Try as we might, it always comes back to Jay Cutler. We got the obligatory “Cutler at a crossroads” story and the beat reporters are tracking that he’s gone five practices without a turnover. The scary thing is that the Bears have some real shaky depth behind Jay Cutler. Jimmy Clausen hasn’t exactly set the world on fire while rookie Shane Carden has downright struggled.