TAMPA, Fla. — The Bears put rookie linebacker Caleb Johnson, who had emerged as a special teams stalwart, on the reserve/COVID-19 list Sunday.
Johnson becomes the fourth Bears player to be put on the list in the last 11 days. Running back Damien Williams, who was unvaccinated for the coronavirus, returned to the team Saturday and will play Sunday. Outside linebacker Robert Quinn, who’s been one of the team’s best players, and tight end Jimmy Graham will both miss the Buccaneers game after testing positive this week.
Receivers coach Mike Furrey, who is vaccinated, missed last week’s game after contracting the virus but returned to practice Thursday.
Friday, coach Matt Nagy said he wasn’t concerned that the Bears were in the midst of an outbreak.
“The change [from last season] is that there’s vaccinations,” he said. “But, really, for us the mindset heading into this was knowing … hey, you need to wear your mask. You need to be able to follow the protocol that they have. And at the same point in time for us as coaches we’ve got to have our contingency plans.”
