Amukamara out, Toliver in vs. Bucs
The Bears’ depth at cornerback will be tested against the No. 1 passing offense in the NFL and red-hot Buccaneers quarterback
Ryan Fitzpatrick on Sunday at Soldier Field.
Starting cornerback Prince
Amukamara (hamstring) and backup cornerback Marcus
Cooper (hamstring) won’t play against the Bucs, coach Matt
Nagy said Friday. Undrafted rookie Kevin Toliver is expected to start against the Bucs — a huge test against Fitzpatrick, who set an NFL record by throwing for 400 or more yards in each of the first three games of the season.
Toliver played 22 snaps last week against the Cardinals after Amukamara suffered his hamstring injury.
‘‘It’s going to be a really good opportunity for him, and he’s handled himself well in practice all week long,’’ Nagy said of Toliver, who had an up-and-down career at LSU. ‘‘The stage isn’t too big for him. He comes from a big-time school. He’s played in front of a lot of people in big-time games.’’
Receiver Miller out
Rookie receiver Anthony Miller is out with a shoulder injury suffered last week against the Cardinals. Nagy said Miller will be replaced ‘‘by committee’’ but indicated Josh Bellamy will be first in line.
‘‘He’s the one who’s really jumped in and done a good job in that [slot] role,’’ Nagy said. ‘‘He knows this offense . . . and he’s a smart kid who understands it and can play all three positions.’’
Streaking
The Bears are trying to win three consecutive games for the first time since Weeks 1-3 of the 2013 season under Marc Trestman. No NFL team has a longer such drought.
Nagy was mentored by Chiefs coach Andy Reid, who has had winning streaks of five or more games in each of his five seasons with the Chiefs, including 11 in 2015 and nine in 2013.
‘‘What was great about coach Reid during those streaks was he never let anybody slide,’’ Nagy said. ‘‘There was zero complacency. From coaches down to players, it didn’t matter. There was never looking ahead.
‘‘Then you need to have a pulse of your team and know physically . . . and mentally where they’re at. And then explaining to them that details matter. He’s a master at that. I’ve learned from that, and I’m trying to get to that point in this.
‘‘To the players, what I’m explaining to them is that we haven’t done anything yet. We’re three games into the year, and we’re 2-1.’’