Finally, some good news from Halas Hall regarding Chicago Bears wide receiver Kevin White:
Kevin White practiced at #Bears OTA's today. Says he "feels good."
— Zack Pearson (@Zack_Pearson) May 30, 2017
White’s status was up in the air after missing time during the team’s last round of OTAs, so this is relatively comforting.
When he wasn’t talking about 2017 being his year, Mike Glennon raved about White’s performance during the first day of practice. However, head coach John Fox said White didn’t participate in the second day, and didn’t offer any reason why, nor did he specify whether or not White’s absence was injury related. If he’s healthy – and all signs were pointing to that prior to the mysterious holdout – White figures to be an integral part of the Bears offense.
As it stands, White returned to work on Tuesday as he restarted his quest to prove himself to be a capable NFL wide receiver.
White knows 2017 is an important year for him, and there is a sense of urgency surrounding a player who has played in only four games in two seasons. “It’s gotta happen now. I gotta turn it up,” White said to the assembled media on Tuesday. “For me, year three, it’s time.” Part of what is driving this sense of urgency could be the “bust” label that has been lobbed White’s way because of the lack of production from a player selected with a top-10 pick.
To that end, White said: “You guys can write it up and everybody’s got their opinion. So I’ll just leave it at that.”
White joins free agents Kendall Wright, Victor Cruz, and Markus Wheaton, as well as projected No. 1 receiver Cameron Meredith among the many pass catchers in Bears camp with something to prove in 2017. But unlike Wright, Cruz, Wheaton, and (to a lesser extent, Meredith), White doesn’t have any prior professional experience to fall back on. Cruz can point to multiple 1,000-yard seasons and a Super Bowl ring. Wright can highlight a 94-catch campaign that resulted in more than 1,000 receiving yards. Even Wheaton can offer up highlight-reel grabs from his time being on the receiving end of Ben Roethlisberger deep balls. White can offer up only a limited college résumé from his time at West Virginia.
With that in mind, White is right when he says “it’s time” regarding the 2017 season. Because it most certainly is time for White to prove why he was a high pick in the past, and why he should be a part of the team’s future.