Bears Say So Far, So Good with COVID-19 Approach

Social distancing, testing and technology are all working so far for the Bears as the deadline arrives Thursday, Aug. 6 for players to opt out

So far, so good with the social distancing for COVID-19 purposes at Halas Hall.

There have been no new cases of Chicago Bears players put on the Reserve/COVID-19 list and with the deadline fast approaching Thursday for NFL players to opt out, coach Matt Nagy can't say for certain he'll see anyone joining nose tackle Eddie Goldman and safety Jordan Lucas on the sidelines all this season.

"I think right now the pulse of our team, we're in a really good place," Nagy said Wednesday during a Zoom meeting with reporters. "We're kind of in a rhythm right now.

"You ask some of the guys how they're feeling in regards to the setup that we have here, and controlling what we can control is giving them a lot of space and then also just talking through this whole procedure, everything about it, we spent a lot of time into where we're at and how we go about it and the details of everything and then we let them make their decision. But I think for them it's just to make the best decision for them and then we fully support anybody that does that."

The Payton Center is a team meeting room with players spaced out over a 120-yard indoor field, multiple check points exist for temperature taking before anyone even enters Halas Hall, more spacing and distancing has been created throughout already spacious Halas Hall and the league rules for how long they can practice make a difference. So does wearing masks.

"I don't know how it'll end up being for us but the one thing we need to do is we need to stay healthy," Nagy said. "If we stay healthy and we continue to follow the teams that are doing it the right way and don't just let it slip—you always stay on top of the mask deal, you continue to keep social distancing, you do Zoom meetings when yah can, you limit your team meetings.

"You look over at the Walter Payton Center and we have 100 people spread out over 120 yards. It's pretty cool. It's a credit to the people who work here. It's a credit to the players because they've responded really well to it."

The precautions the Bears have taken have them thinking they do not need the bubble approach like Tampa Bay and New Orleans have taken, sequestering their teams in hotels as a group rather than letting them go home.

"There's been a lot of hard work behind the scenes to get this set-up that we have," Nagy said. "But also we're growing, too. I mean, if you came in here five days ago and looked at this complex at Halas Hall and the Water Payton Center, it's totally different than five days ago. We keep adding to make it better.

"(GM) Ryan and I joked, it's like one of those whiffle balls that has all the holes in it everywhere. We keep finding holes and patching them up. That's probably going to continue for the whole year."

The Bears have used educating players' families in lieu of locking players up somewhere.

"We had a good meeting via Zoom with all the families, everybody, every member, everybody that's in the different tiers for their families," Nagy said. "A bunch of kids, a bunch of wives, husbands, brothers, sisters were on the call and asked a lot of questions and got a lot of good answers. For us, we just are understanding that we're taking this very seriously.

"The mask deal is real. This is my opinion, and just from what we see and what we hear. You hear a lot of people say, 'Well, you've gotta treat it like everybody has it.' In my opinion, you've gotta treat it like you have it, right? If you treat it like you have it, you wear your mask and the percentages of spreading it can be a lot lower."

The bottom line for the Bears is to arrive for the opener in the same good health.

"I hope all of that helps us to become a better team, that we're not worried about other things when we show up on Sept. 13 against Detroit," Nagy added.

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