The Bears changed their practice schedule Monday as a precaution after a practice squad player was put on the reserve/COVID-19 list Saturday, coach Matt Nagy said.
On Saturday afternoon, the Bears put Badara Traore, an undrafted rookie offensive lineman from LSU, on the league’s reserve/COVID-19 list. It marked the first Bears positive since three were put on the list after intake testing for summer camp.
Rather than hold a practice Monday, the Bears went through a morning walk-through. The reason: the Bears kept their practice squad — players who play the role of the opposing team — home Monday.
Nagy hopes to have the practice squad back at practice Wednesday.
He said the Bears are trying to go “above and beyond” with their safety measures. They sent players home after the walk-through, and will hold meetings later today via Zoom. Players will still come in to lift weights, but they’ll be socially distanced.
“It kinda puts in a trickle-down effect of how you’ve gotta do things moving forward,” he said.
Nagy said that Traore “feels bad” for becoming infected but, in terms of his health, “seemed to be doing good.”
The team didn’t add anyone to the list Sunday, which is a good sign that it could avoid an outbreak. The Titans proved, however, that positive tests can take days — even weeks — to make themselves known.
The Bears have their regular off day Tuesday before beginning three straight practices on Wednesday. They’ll fly to Charlotte, North Carolina, on Saturday and play the Panthers on Sunday.
Nagy has been stringent about upholding team and league policy regarding masks. Coaches and players must wear them at all times — except for when they eat and shower — inside Halas Hall. Players don’t wear masks during practice, but coaches do.
“Our communication here has been really really good from the top down,” Nagy said. “We have an app that we use for our team, and we have a communication process to let everybody know what’s going on. … [Sunday] night we had a big Zoom meeting just to let everybody know, ‘O.K., here’s what we’ve got moving forward, here’s the change we’re making. Are there any questions or concerns?’
“We got everybody on that call and we just talked through it, so I think that part is comforting to the players.”
