Desperate times call for desperate measures. The
Chicago Bears have been slammed by COVID-19 losses for the past week. Several starters and two coordinators will miss the Monday night showdown with the Minnesota Vikings. There isn't much they can do except soldier on. This includes a massive callup from their practice squad that includes no less than eight players. Not to mention the return of right tackle Germain Ifedi.
Perhaps the biggest bit of intrigue with this move is how many notable Bears rookies are set to make their official NFL debuts. In primetime no less. To this point, most of the 2021 draft class has seen some sort of action this season save for two names. Sixth round wide receiver Dazz Newsome and 6th round cornerback Thomas Graham Jr. This game will make it official that every member of the class will have been on the active roster at least once. Joining
them will be undrafted rookie Charles Snowden who had himself an exciting preseason as a pass rusher.
Fans have pushed to see guys like Newsome and Graham Jr. for weeks.
It hasn't really been clear why Matt Nagy and his staff haven't given them opportunities before now. Especially with the problems the team continues to have at both wide receiver and cornerback. Now with the season pretty much out of reach, what could it hurt to see if they have something to offer? The simplest answer is Nagy can't afford it. He knows he likely won't be here beyond 2021, so he has to do everything possible to win games.
That and the Chicago Bears head coach has shown several times over the past couple of years that he isn't capable of developing young players all that well. Especially on the offensive side. David Montgomery is the only draft pick to this point that has become a legitimate stud and he's a running back. It isn't too hard to develop running backs.
Cole Kmet? Justin Fields? Darnell Mooney? All have shown flashes but struggle with consistency.
Either way, it will be nice to see if Newsome gets some opportunities on offense in this game.
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