The preseason is all about players taking advantage of the opportunity. Whether it is a roster spot or a depth chart spot, there is always a chance to be taken before the season starts. For the Chicago Bears, there are some players who will have one of the best opportunities of their career in week two of the preseason.
3. Doug Kramer may not get more experience at center with the Chicago Bears
Doug Kramer is a seventh-round pick from Illinois entering his second season in the NFL. Kramer played about 20 snaps in his preseason debut last year and suffered a season-ending injury. He tried to play through the injury, and you could tell because it impacted his play in that game.
So, his rookie season was a wash. He entered year two but saw Cody Whitehair and Lucas Patrick ahead of him on the depth chart. Fortunately for him, those two have a long history of injuries, and they are both getting older. Patrick has not practiced in over a week, while Whitehair just went down on Thursday this week.
Whitehair only played seven snaps in the preseason opener, and with Justin Fields sitting out, Whitehair probably was not even going to play in week two at all. Now, it is pretty official with the injury.
So, last week, Kramer got to play a career-high 41 snaps in the preseason. He tied Larry Borom and Alex Leatherwood for the most snaps in the game. This week, he is expected to start, and he may end up playing the entire game.
Josh Lugg saw eight snaps last week, and Whitehair played seven. Those are the only snaps that Kramer did not play. Whitehair is out, and the Bears really need to see more from Kramer than Lugg anyway. If Kramer does not play the full game, it will be a few fourth-quarter snaps that he sits. This will be the most snaps he gets to play in the NFL and his first start as well. This is his chance.