Tag: Badara Traore

Jaguars claim former Bears OL Badara Traore

Traore spent the 2020 season on the Bears practice squad and had seen action at left tackle during the preseason.

The Jacksonville Jaguars added some depth to their offensive line on Wednesday by claiming former Chicago Bears offensive lineman Badara Traore off waivers. Traore was released by the Bears on Tuesday as teams had to reduce their rosters from 85 to 80 players. As a result of the signing, the Jags waived offensive lineman Garrett McGhin.

Traore was an undrafted selection from LSU in 2020 after starting five games and appearing in 26 over two years with the Tigers. He spent his rookie season on the Bears’ practice squad and saw some action at left tackle during the preseason.

As Jaguar Report’s John Shipley notes, McGhin played 33 snaps in Monday’s loss, and they were all at left tackle. That would seem to indicate that the team sees Traore lining up in the same spot as well.

Jacksonville got a look at its offensive line depth in the game against the Saints with three starters unavailable, and the result wasn’t pretty. The Jaguars will need to boost their depth at the position, or they’re an injury away from complete offensive derailment.

The team will hope that Traore is a player who can provide just that.

8 takeaways from the Bears’ 15th training camp practice

From Justin Fields’ off day to a whole lot of drops by Bears receivers, here’s what we learned from Tuesday’s practice.

The Chicago Bears returned to the practice field Tuesday at Halas Hall for their first padded practice since their preseason opener.

Following a so-so Monday practice by quarterbacks Andy Dalton and Justin Fields, Dalton and the first-team offense had a nice bounce back day, although it was certainly the defense’s day once again. Unfortunately for Fields, he had perhaps his worst practice of camp so far.

Following Tuesday’s practice, here’s a look at what we learned from Day 15 of training camp:

Best LSU football recruit from every state since the year 2000

LSU is in a football recruiting hotbed, but who are the top recruits from states out of Louisiana signed by LSU?

LSU is fortunate to be in a hotbed of football recruiting in the state of Louisiana. LSU has traditionally been able to keep much of the state’s top talent close to home, but sometimes the Tigers have to go on the prowl beyond the state’s borders if they want to build the best recruiting class possible.

With another recruiting cycle in the books, now is a good time to take a look at the LSU recruiting efforts since the turn of the century and see who the best LSU recruit in each state has been.

To put together this list, the 247 Sports composite rankings are referenced. In all, 20 states are included in LSU’s recruiting efforts since 2000. The most fertile grounds for LSU recruiting are close to home in Louisiana and Texas. Those two states have produced players like Derek Stingley, Grant Delpit,  Jarvis Landry, and Joseph Addai, just to name a few. LSU has also claimed some recruiting victories in Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi and brought a recruit home from California, Michigan, and Ohio.

For the purposes of this list, JUCO players are included, and they are specifically noted. Keep in mind JUCO recruiting rankings are not necessarily the same as the traditional recruiting class rankings.

Roster Moves: Bears sign 10 players to reserve/future contracts

The Bears inked 10 players that finished the season on their practice squad to reserve/future contracts on Monday.

The Chicago Bears wrapped up their 2020 season with a wild-card loss to the New Orleans Saints, and now Chicago faces an offseason with a ton of questions.

The Bears signed 10 players that finished the season on their practice squad to reserve/future contracts on Monday.

Bears promote five players from practice squad to the active roster

The Bears have added five players from the practice squad to the active roster in conjunction with injuries and the reserve/COVID-19 list.

The Chicago Bears have activated five players from the practice squad to the active roster ahead of today’s game against the Tennessee Titans in conjunction with injuries and the reserve/COVID-19 list.

The Bears promoted return specialist Dwayne Harris, quarterback Tyler Bray, offensive linemen Dieter Eiselen and Badara Traore and defensive lineman Daniel McCullers to the active roster, where they’ll be available for Chicago against the Titans.

With three players on the reserve/COVID-19 list, right tackle Bobby Massie on injured reserve and receiver Ted Ginn Jr. released, the Bears made corresponding moves.

Now that Ginn has been released, Harris becomes Chicago’s punt returner, a role he served in last week after being promoted from the practice squad to the active roster on game day with Ginn being a healthy scratch.

While back-up quarterback Mitchell Trubisky won’t require surgery on his right throwing shoulder — an injury suffered on a designed run in last week’s loss to the New Orleans Saints — Trubisky is out against the Titans, which means Bray will serve as Nick Foles’ back-up quarterback.

Chicago has had a plethora of issues with its offensive line, not based on performance this week. They lost Massie for a few weeks to a knee injury and back-up center Sam Mustipher for the week to a knee injury while center Cody Whitehair and reserve tackle Jason Spriggs were placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Which is why Eiselen and Traore have joined the active roster this week.

The Bears will also be without defensive end Roy Robertson-Harris, who suffered a shoulder injury last week, which means McCullers will be available for depth should the Bears choose to activate him against the Titans.

Bears place CB Michael Joseph on reserve/COVID-19 list

The Chicago Bears have moved cornerback Michael Joseph from injured reserve to the reserve/COVID-19 list, the team announced on Saturday.

The Chicago Bears have moved cornerback Michael Joseph from injured reserve to the reserve/COVID-19 list, the team announced on Saturday.

Joseph, who was placed on injured reserve on Aug. 31, hasn’t been around his teammates or at Halas Hall since the start of the regular season. According to ChicagoBears.com, Joseph is “remotely under the care of the club’s medical team.”

Joseph, who joined the Bears in 2018 as an undrafted free agent, spent the previous two seasons on the practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster for the final two games of the 2019 season, but he did not play.

Joseph becomes the second Bears player to be placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list since the regular season started. Practice squad offensive lineman Badara Traore was placed on the list shortly after their Week 5 win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and he has since been removed from that list.

 

Bears roster moves: OL Badara Traore returns, S Marqui Christian joins practice squad

The Bears are bringing back safety Marqui Christian for his third stint with the team, as they’re signing him to the practice squad.

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The Chicago Bears made some roster moves on the practice squad ahead of Monday night’s game against the Los Angeles Rams.

The Bears activated offensive lineman Badara Traore from the COVID-19/reserve list and back on the practice squad. Chicago has also re-signed safety Marqui Christian to the practice squad and released linebacker Sharif Finch to make room.

As Brad Biggs noted, the addition of Christian to the practice squad comes on the heels of safety Sherrick McManis being sidelined with a hamstring injury. Look for Christian to possibly be promoted to the active roster on Monday.

Christian joined the Bears in mid-August following a four-year stint with the Los Angeles Rams, where he served as depth at safety. During his time with the Rams, Christian contributed mainly on special teams, but he also saw time on defense, where he totaled 36 tackles.

Christian joined the Bears in mid-August and was reinstated in Week 3 following a two-game suspension to start the year. He was on Chicago’s practice squad before signing with the New York Jets.

Now, Christian is back for his third stint with the Bears, and his timing couldn’t be better.

 

 

Bears will be without OL coach Juan Castillo after close contact involving COVID-19

The Bears will be without OL coach Juan Castillo, who’s isolating after being in close contact with someone that tested positive for COVID.

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The Chicago Bears made it through the first quarter of the season without any COVID-19 scares. But over the last week, there have been a couple of concerns.

Practice squad offensive lineman Badara Traore was the first — and only, to this point — Bears player to test positive for COVID-19 on Saturday. The Bears had played on Thursday night — without practice squad players on the sideline — so there was limited exposure.

On Wednesday, Bears head coach Matt Nagy announced that the team would be without offensive line coach Juan Castillo, who is self-quarantining after being in close contact with someone that had tested positive for COVID. That person was not Traore, Nagy said. Castillo will not be at Halas Hall this week nor will he travel to Carolina for Sunday’s game against the Panthers.

“We’re just trying to be overly cautious to quarantine [Castillo] through Sunday through the guidance of the NFL and our medical experts,” said coach Matt Nagy. “And to his credit, it was self-reported, which, obviously, in these times is a selfless act.”

Assistant offensive line coach Donovan Raiola will fill in for Castillo on Sunday, who’s already had a hand in installs at practice this week.

“He’ll be down on the field and interacting with those guys,” Nagy said. “On gameday, it’s next-man-up mentality on the coaching side, and so this is an opportunity for him to grow. He did a hell of a job today in installs and I just thought it was fun to watch that happen. The guys have trust in him, and now for us as a coaching staff, we’ve got to be able to help him out to help those players out.”

From the start, the Bears have gotten ahead of these COVID protocols, and there were some recent changes to continue to exercise caution and keep these players, coaches and staff as safe as possible.

The Bears have limited opportunities for close contact, which includes distributing lunch in takeout containers rather than gathering in the lunch room and switched meetings from in-person to Zoom calls and limited the number of players allowed in the weight room at once.

“That, to us, is where we’re at right now, to try to do everything we can to help not just the Bears, but the NFL,” Nagy said. “We don’t want to be one of those 32 teams that can take this and make this go the other direction because of COVID.

“Whether that means taking two planes to an away game or having 12 buses go to a stadium, that’s what we’re doing right now. That’s a credit to our organization for allowing us to go above and beyond.”

 

 

Bears 2020 training camp preview: Offensive line

The Bears return four of five starters on their offensive line heading into 2020. Let’s take a look at the unit heading into training camp.

The Chicago Bears will report to training camp on July 28 and one unit to keep an eye on is the offensive lineman. This offseason the Bears didn’t heavily invest into their offensive line that was ranked 29th in run blocking and 21st in pass protection.

The Bears also saw their long time offensive guard Kyle Long retire this offseason and looked into bottom tier free agents and late 2020 draft picks do fill some void and bring competition.

Let’s take a look at the offensive line heading into training camp.

Cody Whitehair

Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

After switching from center to left guard before the start of the 2019 season, Whitehair saw himself playing center in the second half of the season. Entering his fifth year, Whitehair is confident that he’ll be playing center for the 2020 season, where he feels comfortable.

In 2018 Whitehair was very comfortable in playing center as he earned his only Pro Bowl selection so far through his career.

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