James Daniels Running As 2nd-Team G
While the Bears and Ravens are fully underway, due to their Hall of Fame Game matchup, this coming week marks the debuts for the rest of the league. Here’s what’s new in the NFC going into training camp week.
- James Daniels could well occupy a Bears starting spot in Week 1, and it’s likely the second-round pick (on whom the Bears placed a first-round grade) will be a starter this season. But for now, the Iowa product is running with the second-string offense as a guard and the third-team group as a center, according to Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times, who adds fifth-year veteran Eric Kush represents Daniels’ primary competition at guard. These early placements are interesting, given Daniels primarily played center in college. But the Bears are believed to view him as more of a guard.
Bears Notes: Nagy, Howard, Long
The Bears and Ravens will square off in the Hall of Fame Game on August 2, so they are the only two teams whose training camps are already underway. Bears camp officially opened on Friday, so let’s take a look at a few notes out of Chicago:
- Bears fans are excited about the innovations that new head coach Matt Nagy will bring to the offensive side of the football, and Adam Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times believes that excitement is well-founded. Nagy has a great deal of young talent at his disposal, and while much of that talent is unproven, the club certainly has the chance to turn some heads this year. Nagy’s offense is expected to blend Andy Reid‘s West Coast offense with the run-pass options that offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich learned under Chip Kelly at Oregon, and it will certainly include creative formations and shifts. Nagy is also open to innovating and experimenting throughout the course of the season as he adjusts to life as an NFL head coach.
- One key component of the offense, running back Jordan Howard, is making a concerted effort to improve his hands so that he can become a reliable contributor in the passing game, as Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune details. Indeed, Nagy’s offense frequently utilizes running backs as pass catchers, so Howard, who has not offered much as a receiver in his first two years in the league, needs to refine his abilities. For what it’s worth, Nagy believes that Howard can be a true three-down back. Nagy said, “There’s this notion that [Howard] is just a first-and second-down back, and I don’t believe that. Jordan can play all three downs. We’re going to do that. We’re going to use him, and we’re going to use other guys on first and second down when we need to.”
- In a separate piece, Campbell describes the importance of offensive lineman Kyle Long — who suddenly finds himself as the offense’s second-oldest player — to the Bears’ rebuild. There are a lot of intriguing new and relatively new offensive pieces at the skill positions, but those pieces cannot come together to reach their collective potential without a strong offensive line in place. Long, whose career started out with three consecutive Pro Bowl nods, has finished each of the last two seasons on injured reserve. However, Campbell reports that Long is as close to full health as he has been in two years, and that is critical not just for the Bears’ chances in 2018, but for both player and team from a contractual standpoint. After this season, Chicago could cut Long and save $5.5MM against the cap, so the next few months will go a long way towards determining Long’s future in the Windy City.
- Kevin White, who entered the league as a 2015 top-10 pick with a ton of promise, has seen the first three years of his professional career ravaged by injury. The Bears declined his fifth-year option earlier this offseason, so he will enter the last year of his rookie contract with a lot to prove. As Patrick Finley of the Chicago Sun-Times writes, White has a good chance of making the team’s roster out of training camp, but given the talent that Chicago has added over the past several seasons, he will need to perform very well in camp and in the preseason to earn significant playing time. Finley reports that White looks as good as ever from a physical standpoint, and the fact that he can line up anywhere on the field in Nagy’s offense will only help his cause.
Bears’ Allen Robinson Won’t Go On PUP
New Bears wide receiver Allen Robinson has not participated in most of the team’s offseason program as a result of last year’s torn ACL. However, coach Matt Nagy says he’ll be ready to roll as the team reconvenes and will not open camp on the PUP list (Twitter link via Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune). 
The Bears signed Robinson to a $14MM/year contract this offseason and they are banking on him becoming their top offensive target this year. Robinson’s 2017 was a lost cause, but the Bears believe that he can get back to his 2015 form, a season in which he had 80 catches for 1,400 yards and 14 touchdowns. Even as he regressed in 2016, Robinson still finished out with 73 grabs for 883 yards and six TDs, so his floor is fairly high, provided that he can stay healthy.
Nagy also indicated that offensive lineman Kyle Long will be cleared for camp. Long missed a significant portion of last season and underwent shoulder, elbow, and neck procedures, but it sounds like he’s on track to play in Week 1.
The Bears went 5-11 last year and finished with the worst record in the NFC North. After retooling their offense and using a top ten pick on linebacker Roquan Smith, the Bears are feeling optimistic about their chances in 2018.
Bears Rumors: Long, Lynch, Floyd, Burton
While franchise tag situations understandably dominated the day, here’s a look at one of the teams that didn’t take part in a summer standoff. Latest out of the Windy City:
- Kyle Long‘s dealt with a string of injury problems in recent years. He underwent three more surgeries this offseason, but the Bears expect their top offensive lineman to be cleared in time for training camp, J.J. Stankevitz of NBC Sports Chicago notes. Long missed all of camp last season and the first two Bears games before suffering a season-ending injury that shelved him for most of Chicago’s December schedule. Shoulder, elbow and neck procedures followed, but they don’t look to be the kind of impediments Long dealt with in 2017 as he attempted to recover in time for the regular season. Long hasn’t played more than 10 games in a season since 2015. Veterans report to Bears camp July 19.
- The Bears hope Aaron Lynch‘s history with Vic Fangio can translate to the kind of consistency that would make the former 49ers edge defender a reliable part of Chicago’s outside linebacker corps, Colleen Kane of the Chicago Tribune notes. Hamstring and ankle injuries limited Lynch with his new team this offseason, and Kane considers him on the bubble to make the Bears. Lynch is attached to a one-year, $4MM contract. He played in just 14 games the past two seasons, restricted by injuries and a suspension, and recorded just 2.5 sacks in that span. He registered 12.5 during his first two seasons in the league, the first of which as a part of Fangio’s final 49ers defense.
- After undergoing surgery to repair damaged the MCL and PCL in his right knee, Leonard Floyd also expects to be full-go by Bears camp, per Kane. With Pernell McPhee, Willie Young and Lamarr Houston off the roster, the Bears will need more from Floyd. Sam Acho, Jonathan Anderson and Kasim Edebali represent the non-Lynch veterans who could start opposite Floyd.
- Trey Burton, though, may have a more important role on the 2018 Bears, with Adam Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times ranking the former Eagles backup atop the list for players most vital to the team’s prospects this season. Despite Chicago investing more in Allen Robinson, and Mitch Trubisky obviously playing a more critical position, Jahns lists Burton in this slot because of his importance to Matt Nagy‘s offense. The Chiefs have run their attack through Travis Kelce for years, and Burton will be playing that role in Chicago. The Bears added Robinson, Taylor Gabriel and Anthony Miller to their passing game, but Jahns writes Burton will do the most to elevate Trubisky’s comfort level. Burton has career-high marks of 37 receptions and 327 air yards — both in 2016.
- Roquan Smith will be staying away from the Bears, whose rookies reported Monday, while his agent finalizes his rookie contract.
Bears Rookie Roquan Smith Staying Away
Bears first-round pick Roquan Smith is not with the team as the rookies report for training camp on Monday, sources tell Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The linebacker and the Bears are still negotiating his rookie deal, so he may be staying away until an agreement is reached. 
For now, this technically is not a holdout. It won’t officially be a holdout unless Smith does not show on July 19 when veterans are due to arrive.
The Bears and Smith could be in disagreement over the linebacker’s offset language. Players with offset language who are cut before the end of their rookie contract have the remaining guaranteed money reduced by whatever they earns elsewhere. Without offset language, players get to double dip. Top 10 picks expect to complete their rookie contracts, but it’s an important issue for agents nonetheless.
Smith, the No. 8 overall pick in the draft, finished in the top ten of Heisman voting in his final year at Georgia. In 2017, he tallied 137 total tackles, 14 tackles for a loss, and 6.5 sacks.
Bears Taking 'Training Wheels' Off Trubisky?
- Bears guard Kyle Long says the team has “taken the training wheels off” for quarterback Mitchell Trubisky, and that he’s finally “going to be able to do some things creatively and get to showcase his skills”, according to Madeline Kenney of the Chicago Sun Times (Twitter link). Former Bears coach John Fox was often criticized for being overly conservative with Trubisky, and it sounds like Trubisky will finally get to let loose in 2018.
Kyle Long Finding Ways To Help OL
Bears offensive lineman Kyle Long has missed 14 total games over the past two seasons, and the three-time Pro Bowler underwent neck, shoulder and elbow surgeries this past offseason. Naturally, the 29-year-old was limited during his team’s OTAs last month. However, Long still found a way to help his fellow linemen.
The offensive guard is confident he’ll be good to go during training camp, and he’ll be hoping to improve a Bears line that allowed 39 sacks last season.
Bears A Logical Shaq Lawson Suitor?
This Bills regime souring on Doug Whaley second-round pick Shaq Lawson could open the door to interesting trade talks as the season approaches. Still just 23, Lawson was a highly touted prospect at Clemson, which has produced some standout edge defenders in recent years. The Bears would be a reasonable landing spot for Lawson, Michael Walton of NBC Sports Chicago writes. Mostly going on Vic Fangio‘s ability to coax quality play from defenders, Walton writes Lawson would be an intriguing buy-low bet. He has two years remaining on his contract, and the Bears are somewhat thin on the edge behind Leonard Floyd. Lawson, though, has struggled as an NFLer in both the 3-4 and 4-3 schemes. Last season, Pro Football Focus did not view him as a strong pass rusher but did grade him as one of the better run defenders on the edge.
Bears Rumors: Daniels, Robinson, Helfrich
Looking to sport at least two Day 1 starters from this 2018 draft class, the Bears also believe they acquired two first-round-caliber talents in April. Chicago brass placed a Round 1 grade on Iowa center James Daniels, whom the Bears selected at No. 39 overall.
“We had him as a first-round player,” Bears director of player personnel Josh Lucas said during an episode of Meet the Rookies (via Bryan Perez of NBC Sports Chicago). “You never know. Every team’s going to have different flavors with interior linemen. It’s just one of those things that you hope he’s there. But based on our grades, based on where we saw the top 32 players in the draft, we definitely weren’t anticipating him being there.”
The Warren, Ohio, native served as the Hawkeyes’ starting center for the past two seasons before declaring for the draft after his junior year. However, the Bears plan to use him at left guard to replace Josh Sitton, per Perez. Cody Whitehair will make the transition back to center full-time. He served as Chicago’s snapper in 16 games as a rookie in 2016 but saw action at both center and guard in 2017.
Here’s the latest from the Windy City:
- In recovering from the torn ACL that ended his 2017 season and his time with the Jaguars, Allen Robinson did not take part in most of the Bears’ offseason work. However, the former Pro Bowl target is expected to be full go by the time the Bears convene for camp July 19, Jeff Dickerson of ESPN.com reports. Robinson will be playing on a $14MM-per-year contract and will be essential to Chicago’s passing attack from Day 1, provided he can shake off the knee injury.
- On the subject of Bears receivers, Taylor Gabriel, not Robinson, will be slotted at the position that Tyreek Hill plays in this scheme, Perez notes. Although Robinson delivered dominant work on deep balls with Blake Bortles in a breakout 2015 season, Gabriel profiles as the player who more closely resembles Hill on this new-look receiving corps. He’s twice averaged more than 16 yards per reception in a four-year career.
- Chicago’s new offense won’t just be an NFC version of Andy Reid‘s. While Chiefs viewers who find their way to Bears games on Sundays will see familiar concepts, Matt Nagy‘s attack will also contain elements from OC Mark Helfrich‘s former Oregon offenses, Mitch Trubisky said (via Tom Pelissero of NFL.com, on Twitter). The 2017 No. 2 overall pick said the Bears’ new offense is more complex than he’s accustomed to, so it will be interesting to see how the North Carolina product looks with a mostly new cast of pass-catchers. With the Chiefs using plenty of college concepts in recent years, and the Bears hiring a former college HC, Trubisky could be piloting one of the more unique offenses in the NFL this season.
Offset Language Holding Up Top 10 Picks
There are 15 unsigned rookies left, and seven of them are in the top 10. The holdup for this year’s highest selections is offset language, a league source tells Mike Florio of PFT. 
Players with offset language who are cut before the end of their rookie contract have the remaining guaranteed money reduced by whatever they earns elsewhere. Without offset language, players get to double dip. Top 10 picks expect to complete their rookie contracts, but it’s an important issue for agents nonetheless.
The following top 10 players are without deals and there’s a common thread in the representation for most of them:
- Browns, 1-1: Baker Mayfield, QB (Jack Mills and Tom Mills)
- Giants, 1-2: Saquon Barkley, RB (Roc Nation Sports)
- Jets, 1-3: Sam Darnold, QB (CAA)
- Browns, 1-4: Denzel Ward, CB (CAA)
- Bills, 1-7: Josh Allen, QB (CAA)
- Bears, 1-8: Roquan Smith, LB (CAA)
- 49ers, 1-9: Mike McGlinchey, T (CAA)
As Florio notes, CAA also represents No. 6 overall pick Quenton Nelson. The new Colts guard agreed to terms back in May on a deal that contains offset language, but also includes large guaranteed training-camp roster bonuses in 2019 through 2021. The presence of those bonuses effectively offsets the presence of offsets and could be a good middle ground solution for the agency’s remaining unsigned top 10 picks.
There’s no sign of real acrimony between any of these players and the teams that drafted them, but Joey Bosa‘s situation in 2016 serves as a reminder that offset language can become a real issue that can lead to a training camp holdout.