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In what was ultimately a disappointing season for the Chicago Bears, we were lucky that the 2020 season even happened amid the COVID-19 pandemic that halted all sports leagues at some point.
While the Bears had a couple of COVID-19 scares on the practice squad and one of the starting offensive line, ultimately Chicago played every game and, most importantly, kept their players safe.
Bears defense tackle Bilal Nichols spoke to the franchise’s success in fostering a safe environment for players.
“The Bears did an awesome job with providing us with the facility and everything we needed to be able to stay safe and come in and get to work,” Nichols said. “So, you know, credit to them. They did a great job and created a safe environment for us.”
Bilal Nichols: “The Bears did an awesome job with providing us with the facility and everything we needed to be able to stay safe and come in and get to work. So, you know, credit to them. They did a great job and created a safe environment for us.”
— Kevin Fishbain (@kfishbain) January 11, 2021
There were a couple of instances where players or coaches were placed in COVID-19 protocol, whether that was on the active roster with Cody Whitehair and Eddie Jackson or the practice squad. Not to mention nose tackle Eddie Goldman opted out of the 2020 season due to COVID-19 precautions.
The biggest hurdle came before the Titans game, when four offensive linemen were placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list throughout the week (Whitehair, Germain Ifedi, Jason Spriggs and Lachavious Simmons).
That was also when the Bears first got a good look at Sam Mustipher and Alex Bars, who look to be part of the future at offensive line for Chicago.
When all was said and done, the Bears didn’t miss any games during the 2020 season, which is a credit to how Andre Tucker and the Bears organization handled things.
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