No. 1 QB to be named early next week
Don’t worry, everyone. Bears coach Matt Nagy won’t wait till kickoff of the season opener to name a starting quarterback.
After indicating he would keep that a secret as long as possible, Nagy backtracked Monday and said he will follow convention and declare a winner of the competition between Mitch Trubisky and Nick Foles early next week.
Nagy apologized for the confusion he caused but will remain vague the rest of this week. He insisted he hasn’t made a decision yet.
“There will be no waiting until the middle of [next] week or the end of [next] week,” he said. “That wouldn’t be fair to our team, and it wouldn’t be fair to the quarterbacks.
“We’re not hiding anything . . . . We don’t even know that yet, to be quite honest.”
Foles and Trubisky have gone back and forth throughout preseason practices, but Foles appeared to play better in the scrimmage Saturday at Soldier Field and at the previous practice. Bears practices were open in full to the media through Saturday but shifted to a short viewing period Monday.
Trubisky has started for the Bears since taking over for Mike Glennon in 2017 but was one of the worst starting quarterbacks in the NFL last season. That prompted the Bears to trade a fourth-round pick and commit to a three-year, $24 million deal for Foles, who is a journeyman but was the Super Bowl MVP in the 2017 season.
Robinson returns
Nagy can’t keep everything quiet. The open period of practice revealed that after going more than a week without their top playmaker, the Bears got a boost with the return of wide receiver Allen Robinson.
He suffered an ankle injury Aug. 22 and had been out since. He seemed to be back to normal.
“I like where he’s at,” Nagy said. “I thought he looked good.”
Without Robinson, the Bears had Anthony Miller as their No. 1 receiver and used Javon Wims and Ted Ginn on the first team. Miller has fewer yards in his career (1,079) than Robinson had last season (1,147).
Robinson was one of the NFL’s best receivers in 2019, racking up that yardage total on 98 catches. He also tied running back David Montgomery for the team lead with seven touchdowns.
Other concerns
The Bears have more injury issues beyond Robinson. Star defensive lineman
Akiem Hicks has missed two weeks with a quadriceps injury and was not on the field during the open part of practice.
Neither was swing offensive tackle Jason Spriggs, who hurt his knee more than a week ago.
Potential starting safety Tashaun Gipson, however, was on the field after missing two practices with a back injury.
Amukamara adrift
Former Bears cornerback Prince Amukamara might not have a place to play this season.
The team cut him in February, and he went unsigned for three months before the Raiders picked him up. They released him Monday.
Amukamara, 31, played nearly every defensive snap for the Bears last season until they were eliminated from playoff contention.