It was announced that the Chicago Bears named four captains for the 2022 NFL season. This is not like the Matt Nagy era though. We are not going to see guys like Germain Ifedi or Elijah Wilkinson out there representing the team. While Nagy was head coach, the team had a different group of captains on a weekly basis. Matt Eberflus isn’t playing that game.
Instead, Eberflus had the players choose who they thought should be the four captains (two on offense and two on defense) for the team throughout the entire 2022 NFL season. Then, it appears that the Bears will also have an honorary captain each week. One is fine, but having the players vote on four, season-long captains was the right decision.
The Chicago Bears name four season-long captains and one honorary captain
It was revealed that the players voted and named these four as captains for the 2022 season:
- Justin Fields, QB
- Cody Whitehair, OL
- Robert Quinn, DE
- Roquan Smith, LB
Voting Justin Fields as team captain seems obvious, but it’s still important. Fields is only a second-year player and it’s great to see the amount of respect he has already earned from not only players he played with last year, but also new faces that are with the team now under the new regime. This is going to be a big year for him and the team.
I was a little surprised by the Cody Whitehair pick. However, if we truly think about it, Whitehair has been with the team for probably more than any other player on the current roster. You know the offensive linemen are going to probably vote for him, but it’s probably the running backs and tight ends did too.
It’s interesting to see how the players did not care about Roquan Smith not practicing or playing in the preseason. They know he’s one of the best players on this team and deserving of this honor. Seeing him deal with his own business wasn’t going to deter them from thinking anything less.
Robert Quinn is another player who missed all of OTAs but clearly, none of his teammates were concerned. Quinn is looking to prove his 18.5 sack season wasn’t a complete fluke. I’m looking forward to seeing him play in this Eberflus system. It’s crazy how he was rumored to be traded just a month ago.
The team also anointed a Week 1 honorary captain in David Montgomery. Montgomery is a beast on the field. I am excited to see him play in this new outside zone running game even if others believe he’s not the best suited for it.
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I think it’s worth repeating that this Chicago Bears regime has done right by the process of selecting and keeping captains throughout the season. No more of this weekly nonsense based on random, and quite frankly stupid, reasons.