Seeing Eddie Goldman’s name pop up on Wednesday’s injury report was a bit bothersome.
But when asked about Goldman’s injury during Thursday’s press conference, Bears Head Coach Matt Nagy didn’t seem all that concerned about it being problematic for too long.
ESPN’s Jeff Dickerson tweets Nagy believes Goldman will be OK after missing Wednesday’s practice.
Goldman is a key member of a vicious defensive line and one of football’s best nose tackles. Last year, Goldman collected 3 sacks, 5 tackles for loss, 3 quarterback hits, and a safety as he played all 16 games for the first time in his career. Goldman has long been a stellar run stuffer in the middle, which attracts additional attention from blockers and opens up play-making possibilities for those playing beside him. But Goldman’s pass-rush prowess improved in 2018, too, which provided another dimension to his game and made the Bears defense that much better. In short, losing Goldman for any period of time would make defending at a high level a bit more challenging than usual.
Chicago’s defense does not have another defensive lineman who can do the things Goldman can at the nose tackle position. So with that in mind, you can expect the Bears to take it easy as Goldman hits the recovery trail. But because it does not sound like Nagy is all too concerned with the possibility of Goldman being out awhile, it is possible that his absence from Wednesday’s practice is nothing more than a minor setback. We’ll continue to watch the injury report to see where he stands when it comes out later this afternoon.