WARM AND FUZZY IN PHILLY? BURTON BETTING NO
If the lovely people of Philadelphia would ever consider applauding an opposing player, Bears tight end Trey Burton is a good candidate.
Burton clawed his way onto the Eagles’ roster as an undrafted free agent in 2014 and capped his four-year run with them by helping them win a Super Bowl on one of the most legendary plays in the city’s history.
But being one of the heroes of The Philly Special might not be enough to get a warm welcome at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday.
“I have no clue,” Burton said. “They didn’t cheer for Santa, so I doubt they’ll cheer for me.”
Burton earned a four-year, $32 million contract with the Bears as a free agent last year. Coach Matt Nagy envisioned him becoming one of the best receiving tight ends in the NFL, and he turned in a career year in 2018 with 54 catches, 569 yards and six touchdowns.
The only negative of his first season with the Bears was that he missed the playoff game against the Eagles, a 16-15 loss on Jan. 6, because of a groin injury. He eventually needed sports hernia surgery.
Burton hasn’t made it all the way back from that yet. He has 14 catches for 84 yards and is only now beginning to feel right physically.
“To a degree,” he said. “I’m just happy to be out there and playing, honestly.”
Key starters rest
The Bears held some important players out for part of practice Friday, but Nagy downplayed any concerns about their availability against the Eagles.
Burton (groin), safety Eddie Jackson (hamstring), wide receiver Taylor Gabriel (shin) and defensive lineman Bilal Nichols (knee) were all limited participants. But the Bears didn’t designate a game status for them, which indicates that they’re fully expected to play. Nagy said the move was mainly because the Bears have practiced indoors all week because of rain and snow. He’s typically cautious about certain players practicing on turf.
Backup linebacker Isaiah Irving, who injured a quadriceps against the Chargers, was ruled out.
Student vs. Teacher
This will be Nagy’s second time going up against a former boss. While he mostly talks about the Chiefs’ Andy Reid as his coaching mentor, Eagles coach Doug Pederson was the Chiefs’ offensive coordinator when Nagy was their quarterbacks coach from 2013 to ’15.
Nagy, who rehashed much of their history leading up to their playoff showdown in January, reiterated how much he admires Pederson.
“We had a lot of good years together, philosophically, talking through stuff schematically,” he said. “And I have a lot of respect for him. He’s obviously done a lot of good things there.
“The other thing about him that he does is you see how aggressive he is. He’s very aggressive. And he’s just himself. He really doesn’t care what other people think.” ✶