Gordon says he’s eager to take on a dual role
The Bears remain a major work in progress as training camp hums along. On Saturday, the team held its fourth camp practice at Halas Hall, continuing to sort through roster battles and pushing forward toward next week when pads will come on.
Here are three things we learned from Saturday’s action in Lake Forest.
1. Rookie Kyler Gordon is eager to take on a leading role as the defense’s top slot corner. Gordon was the Bears’ top draft pick in April, selected at No. 39 in Round 2. And it has been clear from the outset that the Bears have been impressed with his feel for the game, ability to change direction and playmaking skills. After four camp practices, Gordon seems to be setting himself up for a role in which he might play outside in the Bears’ base defense while sliding into play nickelback in sub packages.
The rookie not only has accepted the challenge of playing in the slot, he has raised his hand to do so.
“That’s a big deal when players want to do what you ask them to do,” Bears defensive coordinator Alan Williams said Saturday. “Some guys are just compliant. They go, ‘Hey, coach, I’ll do anything you ask me to do.’ But when you have a guy who wants to do what you’re asking him to do, you’re getting a little extra edge in terms of how that guy performs.”
Gordon was emphatic last week that he thoroughly enjoys playing in the slot and values his experience playing inside at the University of Washington, learning to sharpen his vision and developing reaction skills that have helped him.
“I love nickel,” he said, “and I love what I can do there.”
Williams said he already senses Gordon is ready to be the Bears’ top slot corner, impressed with his quick-twitch athleticism, size and intelligence.
“There’s going to be a learning curve because it’s the NFL,” Williams said. “But we feel good about the direction he’s heading in terms of getting lined up (correctly), where his eyes are and then just making plays.”
Williams also called Gordon “a ball magnet.” “For some reason he’s always around the football,” he said. “And when he is, he turns it over.”
2. Wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown is trying to use his familiarity with Luke Getsy’s offense to help his teammates. St. Brown spent four seasons with the Green Bay Packers, including three while Getsy was the quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator. Getsy contacted St. Brown right away when free agency began, and St. Brown joined the Bears on a one-year contract.
That familiarity has given St. Brown a leg up in a crowded wide receivers room early in camp. St. Brown said that while Getsy has put some new wrinkles in the offense to make it unique, it’s similar enough that he feels very comfortable in it, even lending advice to teammates.
“There are little times where coaches miss, the receivers coach might miss, and I’ll interject or give my two cents on what happened in a game or what might happen when you’re actually out there,” St. Brown said. “Sometimes I interject and help out.”
St. Brown had 37 catches for 543 yards and a touchdown over three seasons with the Packers and missed 2019 because of an ankle injury. But St. Brown said he believes he’s back on track and “ready to showcase my talent and take my game to the next level.”
Getsy said St. Brown’s best football is ahead of him after watching him mature last season after initially not making the Packers roster out of training camp.
“I saw a transformation of a guy turn into a pro, and his mentality, the toughness and the way he attacked every day, I was just super impressed with how he handled that,” Getsy said. “I always liked EQ and thought he was good player and then I saw him go through that adversity and the way he handled all that stuff, that’s what these guys are all leaning on. That leadership and that experience that he went through, that’s super for us.”
3. Left guard Cody Whitehair feels a connection with new offensive tackle Riley Reiff. Over the last decade, Reiff was a familiar name to the Bears because of his nine seasons and 127 starts in the NFC North with the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings.
Reiff joined the Bears on a one-year contract to open training camp to likely be the starting left tackle, and Whitehair, the player lining up next to him, likes the addition.
“Riley is great,” Whitehair said. “From the second Riley came in, I felt like we had a bond. I don’t know if it’s because we are both NFC North linemen or what. But Riley has the same kind of mentality that I have. A guy that is going to work hard, a guy that is going to study and do the right thing.”
Because he signed late, Reiff has been ramping up to full participation in practices. He took reps at first-team left tackle Saturday, along with another new veteran, Michael Schofield, who was at right guard on some reps. Offensive tackle Teven Jenkins remained out with an undisclosed ailment.
“Any time we can get competition in here, that’s a good thing, especially guys that have a lot of experience like those guys do,” Whitehair said of Reiff and Schofield. “It’s only going to continue to make our room better and help us grow as an offensive line.”