Chicago Bears: One significant player missing from mandatory minicamp
The Chicago Bears opened up their mandatory minicamp today. Prior to today, the majority of the Bears’ defensive starters skipped the voluntary minicamps. The only two who participated in the voluntary program were Roquan Smith and Tashaun Gipson — Gipson only partially participated.
With the mandatory camp starting today, all eyes were on who might not show up. Some were thinking Akiem Hicks could be that guy, but instead it was Eddie Goldman. This was a little surprising to me. Goldman missed all of the 2020 season as he decided to opt-out due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He was also severely missed last year despite other players like Bilal Nichols, Roy Robertson-Harris and Mario Edwards stepping up to help fill the void.
The Chicago Bears reported that Eddie Goldman was an unexcused absence
What is worse is that Matt Nagy made it known that Eddie Goldman’s absence from camp was not excused. Nagy does expect Goldman to be back for training camp later in July.
Bears coach Matt Nagy said there was a “discussion” with nose tackle Eddie Goldman. His absence was not excused. Minicamp is mandatory. Nagy said that Goldman is expected to report to training camp when it begins in late July.
— Adam Jahns (@adamjahns) June 15, 2021
As we look back at the 2020 season, the defense started out very well to begin the year. Do you remember how well they played against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers? I guarantee that Tom Brady probably does not remember. I am fairly confident he had a concussion that game.
Tom, if you lose two more games to Nick Foles in primetime, how many times will you have lost to Nick Foles in primetime in the last three years? pic.twitter.com/jsD3vp8qfW
— Alex Kirshner (@alex_kirshner) October 9, 2020
Nevertheless, Brady had the last laugh as he won yet another Super Bowl Championship. He has proven to me that he is truly the G.O.A.T., sorry Peyton Manning.
Back to the news at hand though. Should Eddie Goldman blindside us by deciding to retire (let’s not pretend players haven’t done this before), the Chicago Bears defense will likely struggle to be elite once again. In fact, with how the team played late in the season last year, they might even struggle to provide a top-15 performance this year.
Goldman is not one to show up often on the stat sheets, but he brings great value to the Chicago Bears front seven. For starters, he is a great run stopper. However, being able to fill the gaps also allows the linebackers to move around more freely. I want to see what Roquan Smith does with Eddie Goldman in front of him.
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During his time in Chicago, Goldman has averaged 2.3 combined tackles (1.5 solo and 0.8 assists) per game. He has also averaged three tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks per season. As you can see, he is not a stat stuffer, but that does not mean he isn’t valuable. If the Chicago Bears are about to lose Goldman for the season (I will remain hopeful based on Matt Nagy’s comments), then this defense could be in for a world of hurt once again.