Eddie Goldman Absence Creates Concern
The Chicago Bears had most veteran defensive starters back practicing Tuesday for the first time this year as minicamp opened, with the exception of a player they haven't seen on a field in a while.
It's been a really long time for nose tackle Eddie Goldman.
Goldman missed last season as an opt-out and still is not participating in the mandatory minicamp after he also missed voluntary OTAs.
Coach Matt Nagy described it as anything but an excused absence but doesn't want to create too much concern.
"We're out here practicing and as everybody knows, it's mandatory minicamp and he's not here," Bears coach Matt Nagy said. "But we did have a discussion with him yesterday.
"Obviously I'm going to keep that (conversation) between us but we do expect him to be at training camp, rocking and rolling there at training camp."
Nagy was asked if it was an excused absence.
"No, this is a mandatory minicamp for us," Nagy said. "So, I think that just we're excited about all the guys that are here."
Goldman was a key player in the middle from 2015-2019 before opting out due to COVID-19 concerns.
Nagy couldn't say whether the absence was related to COVID-19 concerns.
"The way I look at it, honestly, is this is where we are at right now," Nagy said. "The guys that show up are the guys that are here and the same thing when we get into training camp.
"That will speak volumes as to where guys are at as well. Do we wish he was here? Absolutely, because we think he is a hell of a player and he has been out a whole year so I can't specifically tell you that I know that for sure."
Bilal Nichols can play nose tackle but the Bears would rather use him at defensive end.
Ultimately, Nagy said it will not matter except to Goldman, who will be fined for the absence according to the league's CBA. He expects Goldman back for training camp at the end of July.
"I don't think it's in doubt," Nagy said. "I really feel confident that he is going to be here.
"Obviously when someone is not in minicamp that's probably what a lot of people will think and start wondering what the deal is and that's natural and OK and normal. But we fully expect him to be there and, again, I'm just super pumped about all the guys that are here right now and just where they are at."
Joining Goldman in missing practice is edge rusher Robert Quinn, who struggled to two sacks last year after signing a $70 million contract. Nagy said Quinn has a "minor" back issue.
"With where he's at, we want to make sure that in these camps, there's probably more conservativeness with us with a lot of players in these camps making sure we're in a good place, especially when you don;t see a lot of these guys and this is the first time you're seeing them for a while," Nagy said. "He does have a little lower back. We're probably more conservative on that than anything."
Without Quinn available, it meant first-team snaps for free agent acquisition Jeremiah Attaochu.
For all of the new defenders it was the first time working in the new Sean Desai system on a field. It's supposed to be more similar to what Vic Fangio ran in 2018 than what Chuck Pagano ran in 2019 and 2020.
"Nothing really a big difference, you know just different type of schemes," safety Eddie Jackson said. "You know play-calling wise, you know coach Vic, they're both great coaches, let me start with that.
"They have a different approach to the game. Coach Vic was more of a disguise point, you know have me roaming free, being free, things like that. You know coach Chuck would have me try and do things like that early in the year as well, and you know it's just different with schemes, that's about it."
Twitter: BearDigest@Bears:OnMaven
