Getty QB Justin Fields of the Chicago Bears throws a pass during training camp at Halas Hall.
The Chicago Bears moved up in the draft this year to select both quarterback Justin Fields and offensive lineman Teven Jenkins, and it’s becoming clear the success of the former could very well depend on the latter.
The Bears began training camp on July 27 and are set to put on pads the first week of August, so the team has been practicing in a lighter fashion until that happens. With new defensive coordinator Sean Desai taking over for the now-retired Chuck Pagano, early reports say the defense, led by Khalil Mack and Roquan Smith, has been playing with an increased energy and fervor.
The Bears’ defense has looked really good. After the defense has made a play, there have been plenty of times throughout practice where members of the defense have been shouting at some of the offensive players.
Sean Desai’s unit came out with a lot of energy today.
Having a dominant defense is great — but according to one Bears insider who was present at the team’s early practices, the Bears need their offensive line to catch up, or else their rookie QB may be in trouble.
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Fields Had ‘Brief Scare’ at Bears’ Practice
Calling it a “brief scare” that occurred “near the end of Saturday’s Bears practice,” Gene Chamberlain of Sports Illustrated detailed an unnecessary hit Fields took, and revealed why something so small should be sobering for the Bears and their fans.
“Fields was besieged throughout practice by the pass rush,” Chamberlain began. “On one play, the rush came through so hard the rookie quarterback was knocked to the ground. He seemed a bit more stunned than anything, and for good reason. There is no touching of the quarterback allowed in practice let alone knocking him to the ground, although in this case it wasn’t like he had been clobbered but someone in a scrum made contact as he followed through.”
Chamberlain quickly noted that this wasn’t necessarily the defense’s fault entirely:
“Fields seemed fine afterward and was standing and talking with coach Matt Nagy. While it’s debatable whether Fields held the ball too long on some of the pass plays, what wasn’t up for discussion was whether the pass blocking Saturday was good. It wasn’t.”
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Bears Have Been Battling Injuries on O-Line
A huge reason the defense got through the o-line so quickly was because the Bears have been missing their top two starting tackles for all of training camp so far. Jenkins, who is projected to start at left tackle, and Germain Ifedi, who will start on the right side, have both been dealing with minor injuries, so the team has been slow to ease them into practices.
Jenkins is sitting out with back tightness, while Ifedi was placed on the physically-unable-to-perform list after getting a hip flexor during practice. Both are expected back by the preseason, but their absence shines a huge spotlight on the importance of health and cohesion along the team’s offensive line.
“Trust me, he wants to be out there, but we have to control him from himself, and that’s what we’re going to do here as we go through training camp,” coach Nagy said about Jenkins, per Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times. “We’ve got a lot of days here ahead of us, and we’ve got to make sure we’re doing it the right way. And again, I just want to make it loud and clear: He wants to be out here bad, but we’re holding him back. We’ve got to do it this way.”
Nagy also noted Jenkins should be set to return around the time the team starts its padded practices, and says the rookie tackle is trending in the right direction, which is a good sign for Chicago — and for its rookie QB.
Teven Jenkins is OUT again today. BUT Matt Nagy says that things are trending in the right direction. #Bears
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