Chicago Bears: Eddie Goldman gets activated from COVID-19 list
By Dakota Wayne
On Aug. 3, 2021, the Chicago Bears placed defensive tackle Eddie Goldman — who opted out of the 2020 season — on the reserve/COVID-19 list.
While Goldman’s vaccination status hasn’t been made open to the public, the defensive tackle has been seen walking Halas Hall unmasked.
That’s the belief, as Jason Lieser — a Chicago Bears beat reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times — reported that Goldman was seen unmasked in Halas Hall, which is “strictly prohibited and incurs a ~$15k fine.”
Should the Chicago Bears be worried about Eddie Goldman?
After opting out of the 2020 season, Eddie Goldman ending up on the reserve/COVID-19 list gave reason for fans to have some worry. And for good reason, I’d say.
Bears defensive tackle Eddie Goldman, one of their top defensive players, remains on the reserve/COVID-19 list. The team activated offensive lineman Elijah Wilkinson, linebacker Christian Jones and long snapper Patrick Scales.https://t.co/BVjTzYMFI9
— Sun-Times Sports (@suntimes_sports) August 9, 2021
With talks of Eddie Goldman retiring in the offseason, it was unclear whether he’d be returning fully for the 2021 season. Was returning after opting out for a season too much for Goldman? Were the COVID-19 risks too much? Many questions fluttered the minds of those invested in the Chicago Bears.
However, now that he’s been activated, the highly praised defensive lineman can rejoin an already dangerous Chicago Bears defensive front in Khalil Mack, Akiem Hicks, Bilal Nichols, and Robert Quinn.
When healthy, this group (with Robert Quinn replacing Leonard Floyd) has caused a lot of offensive line coaches sleepless nights, and that’s the goal once again for this group going into 2021. Not only has the offense made strides as a collective group since last season, but Sean Desai is also trending with the fans and things are pointing at a similar defensive performance as the 2018 season.
In 2018 and 2019 combined, Eddie Goldman accounted for 55 solo tackles, 19 assisted tackles, four sacks, and an average Pro Football Focus (PFF) grade of 79.0 (87.3 in 2018 and 70.7 in 2019). Now, to be missing out on this piece of the defense would be more of a knock than some believe.
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Now, the focus is just getting that offensive line healthy, as practice gets even more difficult for them with Goldman’s return.