The Chicago Bears kicked off padded practices Monday, where the media was in attendance and able to shed some light on some of the happenings at camp.
With several position battles happening in camp, there were some interesting developments in Monday’s practice. While the quarterback competition between Mitchell Trubisky and Nick Foles will be difficult to gauge early on, there was some news regarding the cornerback competition.
According to The Athletic’s Adam Jahns, Artie Burns took reps with the first-team defense during the first padded practice. Kevin Toliver worked with the second-team.
A few notes from #Bears practice today …
* C. Patterson at RB.
* CB Artie Burns was the starters.
* Robert Quinn held out of team drills after dealing with a "personal issue."
* Sherrick McManis is dealing with a shoulder injury.— Adam Jahns (@adamjahns) August 17, 2020
Nagy noted that Burns, a former first-round pick, has the kind of veteran experience that lends itself to this competition. The Bears signed Burns to a one-year prove-it deal in free agency, and he has a chance to win that starting job opposite two-time Pro Bowler Kyle Fuller. But this battle is far from over.
As far as second-round rookie Jaylon Johnson, there wasn’t a lot of him in this first padded practice. But Matt Nagy expects that to change as the days go on. Johnson is recovering from shoulder surgery, and this is the first time he and Chicago’s rookie class are getting to work with their team on the practice field.
While Johnson wasn’t a focal point in this first padded practice, he’s someone that will no doubt work hard to close the gap between him and Burns and Toliver.
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