White ‘ work in progress’
BOURBONNAIS— It’s still early, but receiver Kevin White’s slow start in training camp hasn’t gone unnoticed.
‘‘ He’s not where I want him to be— or where we need him to be,’’ receivers coach Zach Azzanni said Monday. ‘‘ He’s a work in progress. He’s had a good three days. Good first day, OK second day, much better today. I’m pleased with where he’s going. He’s going [ up], and that’s what I want.’’
White, the Bears’ first- round draft pick ( seventh overall) in 2015, said he isn’t putting pressure on himself to live up to high expectations.
‘‘ Patient but a little bit of urgency,’’ White said when asked about his approach entering camp.
But Azzanni knows expectations are tough to block out.
‘‘ It’s human nature,’’ Azzanni said. ‘‘ He’s a prideful guy. He has some conscience. He wants to do well for Chicago, for [ general manager] Ryan Pace, for coach [ John] Fox, for [ offensive coordinator] Dowell [ Loggains], for me. And I tell him: ‘ Don’t worry about that. Don’t worry about the media and people outside. Just go be the best player you can be.’ ’’
Azzanni is working on keeping White positive.
‘‘ You see flashes of what we want him to be, of what he wants to be,’’ Azzanni said. ‘‘ We’ve got to block out the noise for him. I can’t let him read the papers and media . . . because there’s going to be some negative in there that gets into his head, and he can’t let that happen.
‘‘ He’s got to be positive. We’ve got to go in our bunker, and I’ve got to tell him how great he is all the time because he is.’’
Azzanni wants White to focus on gradual progress in the preseason.
‘‘ He’s not going to come out here tomorrow and be a Pro Bowl player,’’ Azzanni said. ‘‘ He’s going to work himself into that, and I’m going to help him.’’
This and that
Guard Josh Sitton reported to camp after spending time with his family after his wife had a baby. He likely will participate on a limited basis when the Bears resume practice Wednesday.
Center Hroniss Grasu has taken snaps at guard.
‘‘ We’ll continue to evaluate that, but he’s done a great job so far,’’ offensive line coach Jeremiah Washburn said.
Outside linebacker Dan Skuta returned to practice after missing three days with soreness stemming from a hip injury.
Players who didn’t participate in the non- padded practice: receiver Markus Wheaton ( appendectomy), running back Jeremy Langford ( ankle), center/ guard Eric Kush ( hamstring), Sitton, tight end Zach Miller ( foot) and outside linebacker Pernell McPhee ( knee).