Bears clear the air, ready to move on to Arizona
With the tumult of the disastrous Hail Mary loss to the Commanders still fresh — and questions about cornerback Tyrique Stevenson, faith in coach Matt Eberflus and accountability and discipline dominating the media portion of the day, the Bears were determined to move on Wednesday.
“I mean, Sunday comes fast,” linebacker Tremaine Edmunds said. “As much as you want to … dwell on the past, you’re gonna trip going forward. So we gotta turn the page and get ready for Arizona, because this is another big-time game for us. An NFC game. They’re playing good ball right now, so it’s important that we turn the page and get ready for this game.”
The Bears (4-3) face the Cardinals (4-4) on Sunday at 3:05 p.m. on CBS 2. The Cardinals have won three of four games after a 1-3 start, with the only loss to the Packers, 34-13 at Lambeau Field.
Bears players are used to recovering from difficult losses, but losing on a Hail Mary is a little different, especially with so much chatter that ensued from the loss. Getting past it was the thrust of the team’s eight captains meeting with Eberflus on Wednesday.
“We’re just trying to find ways to move forward … and make sure everybody’s mind is in the right spot to win games,” cornerback Jaylon Johnson said. “The biggest thing is learning from it and then not letting it linger.”
Eberflus, perhaps at a critical moment in his tenure as head coach, was encouraged by the meeting.
“I trust those guys. I believe in those guys,” Eberflus said. “We had great conversations. … What I got out of the meeting was belief, trust, determined to have a really good preparation week for this game.”
Said Edmunds: I think it was good, just keeping communication clear … obviously there’s a lot of emotions to it. So I think it was a step in the right direction.”
Injury report
Physical health coming off the Commanders game is also an issue. The Bears were so beat up Wednesday that Eberflus held a walk-through instead of the normal practice.
Defensive end Montez Sweat (shin), safety Jaquan Brisker (concussion) and slot cornerback Kyler Gordon (knee) would not have practiced.
Sweat’s injury is a relatively minor concern and is not expected to keep him out against the Cardinals. Sweat got gashed by a spike on the back of a Commanders player’s cleat Sunday, but did not need stitches and was able to treat it with a bandage.
But the offensive line was the bigger issue. Left tackle Braxton Jones (knee) and rookie tackle Kiran Amegadjie (calf), who replaced Jones against the Commanders — would not have practiced Wednesday. Left guard Teven Jenkins (ankle) would have been limited.
Center/guard Ryan Bates (shoulder) returned to practice Wednesday, opening the 21-day window to be activated off injured reserve.
Tackle/guard Larry Borom (ankle), who also is on IR, began his second week back at pratice. He would have had full participation Wednesday.
Odd man out
Running back Khalil Herbert has played only 27 offensive snaps all season and on Sunday was a healthy scratch for the first time all year. That, combined with the fact he’s in the final year of his contract, makes him perhaps the Bears’ most obvious trade candidate before next week’s deadline.
He was asked Wednesday if he wants to be dealt.
“It’s not up to me,” he said.
Later, he said that he wants to help the Bears.
“I want to be here and I want to be able to help this team, I feel like, when I get the opportunity,” he said.
Being a healthy scratch was difficult he said.
“Especially being here for four years, so it’s definitely tough,” he said.
Contributing: Patrick Finley, Jason Lieser