Point guard Nate Davis is day to day after missing most of practice Saturday with an injury. It’s a precautionary measure, for now. Center Ryan Bates replaced Davis, with Coleman Shelton starting at center.
“When a player sprains something, we always take him out to make sure he gets full rest for that day and then we get him back to the next practice as quickly as possible,” Bears coach Matt Eberflus said.
Davis was in and out of the lineup during the offseason, training camp and regular season last year after signing a three-year, $30 million contract in free agency.
He has participated fully in the first six practices of training camp. Eberflus’ response to a question about Davis’ reliability indicated the Bears won’t have much patience for an extended absence.
“Availability is everything in this league,” Eberflus said. “So you have to be available to practice. It’s part of getting ready for the first half of the season. Being unresponsive is your individual responsibility to the football team. And when you’re not on the field, guess what? It doesn’t happen.”
“Sometimes a player gets injured, and that’s how it goes. But they have to come back as soon as possible because, for me, there’s a lot of competition in this team.”
Caleb will sit down?
Eberflus said he would announce Tuesday whether the rookie quarterback Caleb Williams Williams is expected to play in the preseason opener against the Texans in the Hall of Fame game on Thursday. Williams is expected to sit out or get token snaps, at best.
Don’t touch the QB
Quarterbacks shouldn’t be touched in practice, and that goes for everyone, especially when it comes to Williams. Sweat Montez was removed from a drill after ripping the ball from Williams.
“He knows he shouldn’t do that,” Eberflus said. “I took him out of the drill. Then I took him aside and said, ‘Listen, you can’t do that. You’d be sick if something happened, OK?’ And he understands that. He’s good enough that he can stop and walk away. He needs to be disciplined that way, and he’ll be disciplined in the future.”
Eberflus: It’s my fault
Eberflus thanked Bears fans for coming to Saturday’s practice, the second of nine open to the public. But he also apologized for holding team workouts on the field near Halas Hall, a full field width away from fans in the east stands.
“We have to think about the future to make it a better experience for the fans,” Eberflus said.
Saban’s Visit
Although Eberflus and Nick Saban are defensive coaches, quarterback development was a major topic when they met Tuesday at Halas Hall. Four consecutive Alabama quarterbacks under Saban are in the NFL — Jalen is in pain (Eagles), Your Tagovailoa (Dolphins), Mac Jones (Jaguars) and Bryce Young (Panthers).
Saban, who retired after winning six national championships in 17 seasons at Alabama, was Eberflus’ head coach at Toledo in 1990.
“Our conversations focused on the leadership of the football team, their process and their pace of working with a quarterback — with Tua and Jalen — and their experience during camp,” Eberflus said.
“I learned a lot of wisdom and knowledge from him, and it was great to see him. He’s a special man and a special leader. We talked a little bit about family and, of course, we ended up spending about 30 minutes talking about coverage. That’s something we always do.”
