Bear Digest

Health Concerns and Other Issues Bear Watching Over Summer

Several injuries and the ability of players to make the right choices during their break are among the topics Matt Eberflus addressed as veterans departed Halas Hall after minicamp.

Gene Chamberlain

Kyler Gordon and the Bears begin their stretching routine prior to the start of their final minicamp practice.
Kyler Gordon and the Bears begin their stretching routine prior to the start of their final minicamp practice. / Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

Bears slot cornerback Kyler Gordon underwent surgery last year in September for a broken hand suffered in the opener, returned a month later and eventually played 13 games in his second season.

Asked about his hand this week at minicamp, Gordon gave a bit of a surprising answer.

"I give it like 90 percent," he said. "I think I'll be good by the season. That's nothing concerning me or restricting me or anything. I can still pick the ball, do everything, flip."

That's important, being able to do backflips after big plays when you're known as the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man of the defense.

"No it's not holding back at all, but we're getting there," he said. "Just a little scar tissue, that's it."

When 2022 season ended, linebacker Jack Sanborn missed the last three weeks but coaches said he wouldn't have gone on injured reserve if there had been more games left because the injury was less serious. Yet Sanborn was still being watched closely when OTAs ended the next May.

CALEB WILLIAMS FLASHES BRILLANCE IN RED ZONE WORK ON FINAL MINICAMP DAY

CALEB WILLIAMS ANSWERS BACK AFTER PICK ON DAY 2 OF MINICAMP

THE DATES FANS CAN WATCH THE BEARS AT TRAINING CAMP

It's why the injuries the Bears had at minicamp need to be remembered as they head now into the six vacation weeks before they start training camp. Who will be back 100%? Will some be nursing injuries upon resumption of practices?

On the final day of minicamp, Gordon, wide receiver Tyler Scott, tackle Braxton Jones, guard Nate Davis, tight end Cole Kmet, defensive end Austin Booker, wide receiver Dante Pettis and wide receiver Collin Johnson weren't participating. Scott and Kmet were riding the stationary bikes.

Davis had tried to practice Wednesday but then went back to the sideline Thursday. Kmet and Jones actually missed the last two days of practices.

"That's just precautionary," coach Matt Eberflus said of Kmet and Jones. "When guys feel a certain way, a certain thing, they get with the trainers and work on that so that they can get ready for summer conditioning, because that's coming up here pretty shortly. "

Sometimes precautionary is just that. Sometimes not. For example, Gordon had a back issue called precautionary. Other injuries weren't revealed so openly.

"I know that the guys are working with the strength and conditioning staff right now, in terms of their plans for the summer," Eberflus said. "They're really individualized plans, they do a great job with those guys. I think that our strength staff does an outstanding job.

"We have guys on the tables, we measure and do all of these things to know their bodies, so that when they come back, there's always change because of the conditioning and making sure that they are in balance, because I think that balance and flexibility equals speed. We're really big into that."

A break in practice can mean a break in conditioning and then re-conditioning by the time camp begins or after it starts.

Players who missed time in minicamp are going to be among places to focus when the Bears return in mid-July.

Bears rookies and probably many of the players at the bottom of the roster looking for jobs will be back for three days next week at quarterback school before they leave on their break.

Eberflus gave his pre-summer vacation address Thursday to the veterans who won't be back next week. Most coaches will do something like this and warn players about getting into trouble during their break. It went pretty well for the Bears last year, but the previous year they had a handful of arrests.

"Yeah, my parting message today was simple," Eberflus said. "It was controlling the things you can control, which is your work ethic, your attitude, your demeanor, your devotion, your discipline, your determination, the people you hang around, all the things that you can control during this time—having a plan, going through the process and really not paying attention to the things you can't control.

"You can't control how people think about you. You can't control what they say. (Players) can't control where you were born, when you were born. You can't control all that. You can't control the past, but you can control right here, right now. You have individual responsibility. I always tell the guys in the word win, I stands for individual responsibility. This is that time of year that we have individual responsibility to each teammate and everybody in the building. We're counting on you to come back in a better way two steps up from where you are right now."

That is, those who are healthy enough to be full-go when the practices resume.

Twitter: BearDigest@BearsOnMaven

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Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

BearDigest.com publisher Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.