The Eagle has landed and then crashed on Chicago Bears Hard Knocks

I cannot remember seeing so much excitement surrounding a team premiering on HBO's Hard Knocks, but Chicago Bears fans were all over social media hyping the first episode. We all expected to see a decent amount of first-overall pick Caleb Williams and ninth-overall pick Rome Odunze. The Bears did not disappoint in that regard, but I'm not sure either was the most memorable.

Matt Eberflus was also front and center in the first episode. He's obviously the head coach. He had a very interesting segment with Nick Saban. However, most people are going to continue to focus on his new look. That shouldn't be surprising after we all saw the transformation of Eberflus' appearance between the end of the 2023 season and the beginning of 2024.

Eberflus' beard once again became a topic of discussion as it was spotlighted in a segment of its own. Again, this wasn't the biggest storyline from the episode. That storyline belongs to Theo Benedet and here is why he was given the nickname "Eagle."

Benedet proved he was a worse singer than Caleb Williams, but that was not why he is now infamous. Instead, he is now infamous for stripping down to a speedo featuring an eagle. I'll be honest, seeing him in a speedo wasn't a pleasant sight, but it was damn funny.

Unfortunately, Benedet's story on Hard Knocks did not end there. Instead, his story ended poorly. While playing in the Hall of Fame game against the Houston Texans, Benedet was hurt while blocking for a field goal. Toward the end of the first episode, we find out that Benedet had suffered a grade 2 hamstring strain. The length of time to heal from that injury, according to the episode, is four to five weeks.

That length of time is going to put him at the end of the preseason and likely makes him a long shot to make the team. His only hope now is that he showed enough to be added to the practice squad -- honestly, the highest level he was probably making anyway.