Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy ended the virtual offseason early, freeing his players to focus on their own health before the start of training camp next month.
“We’ve done so much. We feel like we’re in a really good place right now,” Nagy said Tuesday of the decision to end the virtual offseason ahead of schedule.
Nagy said he based his decision on attendance and feedback from coaches before shutting down the rest of the offseason a week and a half early.
“Our focus is really on training camp, whenever that is,” Nagy said. “We realize that things are probably going to be a little bit different. We don’t necessarily know how. The other part is, we’re going to let the players go, but we have an action plan for staying in touch with them.
“The coaching plan is we all just stick together, get together once a week.”
The NFL set up guidelines for virtual offseason programs to continue through mid-June, but some teams are joining the Bears in wrapping up early. The Indianapolis Colts and New York Giants will wrap up their programs by Friday, and per ESPN, the Tennessee Titans will do so as well.
The Boston Globe reported Monday that most New England Patriots veterans were done with meetings, though some will continue with rookies. The report added the Patriots’ coaches will not report to the team’s facility until training camp in July.
The league recently set a memo on protocols to prepare for the return of players to team facilities, but that is not expected until training camp. It’s possible camps could open slightly earlier than the planned timeline of late July.
The Bears are entering training camp with a few pressing matters to be addressed, including the quarterback competition between Mitchell Trubisky and Nick Foles. Foles was acquired from the Jacksonville Jaguars for a fourth-round pick. The Bears declined the fifth-year option for 2021 on Trubisky, setting up this season as a make-or-break year.
Foles has experience with Nagy and quarterbacks coach Bill Lazor, but Nagy admitted the virtual offseason might not have benefited his quarterbacks.
“The biggest part is probably the evaluation — you lose reps,” Nagy said. “The other part of this too is there are personal relationships built and when we do get back together, we have to make up for it. Have a great action plan. We feel like we’re doing everything in our power to handle the mental side, handle the relationship side. But when we get (to camp) we have to hit the ground running.”