Chase Claypool Among Bears Injured Group
Jaylon Johnson continues missing Bears OTAs but the fourth-year cornerback is hardly alone.
In Johnson's case, at least there is known logic behind missing voluntary practices and that is why should he get hurt and ruin chances for a contract extension at an offseason workout?
The Bears were also without newly signed free agent guard Nate Davis for the second straight week but coach Matt Eberflus isn't offering information because at this point in the offseason it isn't required by the league.
However, he did provide a sketchy update on Johnson's pending return. Even if it was sketchy, it was at least an update.
Eberlus couldn't rule out Johnson joining the team at final week of OTAs.
"So hopefully he'll be here, you know, he'll probably be here for mandatory minicamp," Eberflus said. "Hopefully next week (OTAs), potentially."
With Johnson away, he's missing the instruction of a new position coach. Jon Hoke, the Bears DBs coach under Lovie Smith and Marc Trestman, has returned and said there is some difference to note from last year's DB coaching staff and Johnson is missing this.
"Just the subtle changes of how I teach and the way it was taught before from a technical standpoint as much as anything else," Hoke said. "The package is the package, the scheme's the scheme, but there are nuances about how you teach certain things, so that's the big part of it."
Floppy Hat Crowd
Both wide receiver Chase Claypool and guard/center Lucas Patrick missed Wednesday's practice but were in attendance wearing floppy hats and closely watching drills.
Again, Eberflus didn't want to offer up information on injuries, but in Claypool's case he did make an exception.
"Yeah this time of year I'm not really going to talk about the injuries but this time of year you get some soft tissue stuff and there's no reason to risk anything at this time," Eberflus said of Claypool. "So you know he just felt something like a lot of guys have so we just let him sit out for the day and see where they're going from there and then we'll see what we do."
So soft tissue is either hamstring or groin.
The Beneficiary I
With Patrick out and with Davis not attending the workouts, every single first-team snap at right guard went to second-year player Ja'Tyre Carter, the sixth-round pick from Southern.
Bears center Cody Whitehair isn't worried about the line's lack of time together with Davis away and not participating.
"Nate's an older guy," Whitehair said. "He knows what he's doing. We're excited to get Nate in. He's a good player, so he's going to help us out for sure.
"I think he'll be fine. He's a veteran guy. He's played in this system for a long time, coming from Tennessee. A lot of the stuff is the same. Just seeing where he is in combinations and where I am, I don't think it'll be a very hard transition. It'll be pretty smooth I think."
The Beneficiary II
The other beneficiary from at cornerback is Tyrique Stevenson. He hadn't been with starters in the first week of OTAs but on Wednesday he was at right cornerback with starters part of the time and also with the second team, and even took a few plays on the left side at cornerback.
During 7-on-7 work in the red zone, Fields found a lunging DJ Moore over the middle for a TD. The very next play, Stevenson picked off a pass and took it to the house.
"He should've caught it cleaner," Hoke said of Stevenson. It was a good play, don't get me wrong. Let's not let the ball drift back into his body.
"He dropped one last week that he had in a similar situation because he let the ball come back into his body. He's got to keep his hands out in front of his eyes. Really a good play, but it could've been cleaner."
The Beneficiary III
The player who made a lot of catches with Chase Claypool sitting out Wednesday was good old ... No. 86? It was Dante Pettis. He's now wearing 86 because Robert Tonyan Jr. had been given 18. Pettis wasn't signed until after Tonyan. By any number, it was a strong practice for Pettis as a receiver for Justin Fields.
Other Watchers
A few others watching Wednesday's work but not participating were lineman Alex Leatherwood, running back D'Onta Foreman and linebacker Jack Sanborn. Safety Eddie Jackson and wide receiver Darnell Mooney remain out but are injury absences, as is Sanborn.
No 'Dumb Cookies'
Fourth-round rookie wide receiver Tyler Scott enjoyed a strong practice, making catches from PJ Walker with the backups on three consecutive well-timed plays.
A player who is standing out on defense with backups, and sometimes with them against the starters, is a surprise. It's fifth-round rookie linebacker Noah Sewell from Oregon.
"The first thing I'd say, he's really instinctive," linebackers coach Dave Borgonzi said. "And I really think he's got three interceptions so far in camp. He's around the ball. He's got good instincts. He's a bigger guy, so Noah's almost 250 pounds, so he's just a different type of body.
"He’s a bigger guy, strong. He's a really strong player. He's got strong hands. Good tackler. So I think he's got a lot of upside. And he's still trying to figure it out. He's a rookie. There's a lot of information coming at him pretty quickly here during these OTAs, but he's handled it well."
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