Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy ended the team’s virtual offseason program a week and a half early in order to give his players time to focus on training to get in shape ahead of training camp.
And given Nagy’s impression of his players when they reported to Halas Hall this summer, they certainly did just that.
“Our players, to their credit, they’ve come into camp in exceptional shape,” Nagy told the media on Wednesday. “We weren’t sure how that was going to happen, not knowing where they were and what they had to be able to work out in during the quarantine. But I’m just really proud of the players for the way that they came into shape.”
Nagy singled out defensive tackle Akiem Hicks and wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson as those that showed up to camp in excellent shape.
Bears coach Matt Nagy tells us — despite the long layoff — that the players reported to Halas Hall in great shape. Singles out Akiem Hicks and Cordarrelle Patterson for being in excellent condition.
— Jeff Dickerson (@DickersonESPN) August 5, 2020
With the offseason program being entirely virtual due to COVID-19, it’s been nearly seven months since Bears coaches have seen most of these players. While Nagy was confident players would remain in good physical condition, they didn’t have the same access to gyms that were closed amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“You kind of hold your breath when you haven’t seen these guys this whole time,” Nagy said. “I know what I was doing and there’s others, too, and there’s a lot more eating than there is working out over that quarantine. And so you never really know where these guys are at. But I know our guys and just from seeing them now, they made an executive decision as a whole that they’re going to work their tails off and get in good shape. And if they’re going to eat during the quarantine, they’re going to do a lot of working out.”
Bears players spent their offseason training for the start of camp, and quarterback Mitchell Trubisky even organized some offseason workouts with teammates in the Chicago area.
While 2020 has been anything but ideal, the Bears are dealing with this unconventional season as it comes.
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