The Bears slapped the pads on Saturday night to a PACKED house at Olivet Nazarene University and by all accounts, did not disappoint. Here’s what I was able to pull together from the beat writers in attendance:
Before we get to the practice, some moves and comings and goings.
- Brian Price passed his physical to complete the trade with the Bucs and will wear #95. He’s eligible to start practice on Tuesday.
- Bears added another CB to the roster by picking up former Raiders 7th rounder Jeremy Ware. To make room, they waived PK David Teggart.
- In a move that didn’t happen, the Bears were in discussions to trade for OT Jeff Otah before the Panthers traded him to the Jets. He’s a RT, so it sounds like they were just trying to add some depth, not trying to add to the LT positional battle.
Back at the practice fields…
- Devin Hester sat out of practice with a tweaked ankle. It’s not serious and Lovie Smith assures us he’ll be back in action on Sunday afternoon.
- Speaking of injured wide receivers, Brandon Marshall gave the folks on hand a big scare, going down early when he landed awkwardly making a catch. Rest assured, he popped up and returned to practice to hook up multiple times with Jay Cuter on some long catches. By all accounts, he proved to be a BEAST as advertisted
- All eyes were on the rookies. Shea McClellin showed quickness and burst off the line but needs to continue to get stronger. McClellin also made an appearance on Special Teams.
- Rookie Evan Rodriguez has been making a strong first impression in camp so far. Matt Bowen sees him as a U or “Move” TE.
- Alshon Jeffery shows off the physical tools but will be challenged with press coverages and getting off the line. It will be interesting to see how he comes into his own with the Bears.
- Brandon Hardin got a little time with the first string defense when Chris Conte had to come off the field briefly to deal with a minor injury.
- J’Marcus Webb took his turn to run with the first string offense, where he started and got a few more reps than Chris Williams.
- Did I mention that Brandon Marshall is a beast yet?