NEWSLETTER
Chocolate-covered peanuts. That’s the comfort food that got me through yesterday.
• In addition to George McCaskey’s statement on Monday night, the Chicago Bears participated in #BlackoutTuesday. It was good to see the league’s charter franchise out in front by addressing the issue at its core and showing how it would go about being better by highlighting its player-led social justice committee and the organizations (BUILD Chicago, I Grow Chicago, My Block, My Hood, My City, and Youth Guidance) supported by the franchise.
• Quarterback Mitchell Trubisky, who isn’t much for social media, delivered this message:
• We (as a site, and on a personal level) participated, too. And in doing so, shared a document featuring anti-racism resources. Taking part in Blackout Tuesday movement should be viewed as a first step toward doing better as a society.
• Allen Robinson II, the recipient of the Ed Block Courage award spoke out in an interview with the Lauren Screeden of the team’s official website:
.@AllenRobinson reacts to the recent protests and being named the Bears Ed Block Courage Award winner. pic.twitter.com/uR1mTPUnYy
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) June 3, 2020
• This makes Robinson a two-time recipient of the award. He also earned it while playing for the Jaguars:
• The Ed Block Courage Award is given to a player on each of the NFL’s 32 teams who represents a commitment to sportsmanship, courage, professionalism, and are considered to be role models in their community. Robinson — who was also the team’s 2019 Walter Payton Man of the Year recipient — checks all the boxes, to be sure.
• On to other Bears things …
• A bit of important news on the league front dropped yesterday when the NFL reportedly began telling teams they would have to host training camp at home this summer. The Bears were already set to do that, but there are still a chunk of teams who travel outside of team facilities to have training camp. This year, those teams are being told to adjust those plans.
• And with that news coming across the wire, this great idea was out the window:
Per a league source, the Bears' plans/hopes of having crossover practices in Denver with the Broncos in Aug. are now squashed. That gathering is off.
The NFL, in conjunction with the union, has moved to cancel all crossover practices to mitigate coronavirus exposure risks.
— Dan Wiederer (@danwiederer) June 2, 2020
• No joint practices for the Bears and Broncos this year. Bummer. I thought it was a good idea when they did it in 2018 and believed it would help Matt Nagy and his staff evaluate important position battles by giving them a dry run against another team in a practice scrimmage situation. Instead, Chicago is left to figure out its situations in its own facility.
• Given the change in training camp plans, I’m not surprised by ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweeting that – while no official announcement has been made – the expectation is that next time NFL players arrive at team facilities will be for the start of training camp. I suppose that arrival date is still to be determined, too.
• Adam Jahns has an early prediction at what the Bears’ roster could look like come Week 1:
Ranking the #Bears’ positions by concern with an early 53-man roster prediction.
Some thoughts and analysis. https://t.co/16GRrgdUkG
— Adam Jahns (@adamjahns) June 2, 2020
• Remember: Rosters can expand to 55 for the 2020 season (per the new CBA).
• No matter who suits up for Week 1, David Sivia of The Chicago Audible underscores health, pressure, and opportunity as the three most important factors for a successful run by the Bears’ defense.
• On the other side of the ball, Johnthan Wood (Da Bears Blog) explores the consistency of the Bears’ explosive players. To have explosive plays, you need explosive players … right?
• I’ve got $5 on it:
XFL asset auction has been set for August 3 https://t.co/H3U3siqJO1 pic.twitter.com/pOvVrykf5O
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) June 1, 2020
• Men’s electric razors are among the Deals of the Day at Amazon today. #ad
