BOURBONNAIS — Trey Burton didn’t suffer a setback, according to Matt Nagy on Monday, after the Bears’ starting tight end missed his third consecutive practice following five straight to begin camp coming off sports hernia surgery this offseason.
“It’s not a setback. It’s more of, for us, I’m trying to protect him a little bit,” Nagy explained. “I need him and we need him 100 percent for Week 1. We feel that day. But I said it the other day, he didn’t do a lot with the surgery and everything for five months. It’s hard to come back and just be [thrust] in and try to look like yourself. We’re trying to slowly do it. We’ll pick it up. We’ll start getting him more reps as we go here. But I’m protecting him right now.”
And unlike a number of elements within their offense — including the revamped run game, new WR depth and, more than anything, QB Mitch Trubisky — the Bears know exactly what they have in a healthy Burton, who registered career highs across the board after arriving from Philadelphia via his four-year, $32 million contract. However, Burton’s health has been a hot-button topic since January, when he was a late scratch from the wild-card game vs. his former team with a mysterious groin injury ultimately requiring surgery.
Moreover, the health and depth of the Bears tight ends after Burton is an even greater unknown, hence the position perhaps being the most frequently discussed in camp after quarterback and the kickers.
And the singular most discussed player, third-year “Y” tight end Adam Shaheen, dropped a big opportunity Monday to recapture some of the momentum he built this spring but seemingly lost early in camp, when a sore back put him on the sideline for three consecutive practices — including the first two in pads.
The good news is that Shaheen has now stacked three healthy practices consecutively and showed enough of the mismatch potential that made him the 51st overall pick out of D-II Ashland University Monday to gain separation on a route over the middle and position himself for a potential touchdown.
But in what might as well be a microcosm for the state of the Bears tight ends, he bobbled a catchable throw, albeit one placed a bit low and behind him, squandering a huge play.
“They’re growing slowly, but that’s as expected,” Nagy said of his young reserves behind Burton and Shaheen, none of whom has exactly fully seized their chance yet. “Whether they’re a “U” or a “Y,” we’re able to see a little bit more of whether they can hold the point blocking and then what they can do in the passing game as a “U” tight end. For the most part I’ve liked where they’re at, but we’re really going to be able to evaluate them in the preseason.”
Kick in the rear: Burton might not have suffered a setback, but that seems a fair characterization of the latest audition by Eddy Pineiro and Elliott Fry to replace Cody Parkey. After Pineiro converted 12-of-12 tries at Family Fest at Soldier Field Saturday night, he missed on one-third of his nine attempts Monday, from 45, 53 and 54 yards away, all wide left.
But on the first camp practice when both kickers competed head to head, in a revised plan that Nagy said was done to more closely mimic game week with the first preseason game Thursday night, Fry missed two — from 45 and 53 — of his nine attempts.
Nagy, who opened his press conference explaining that there’s a day in every camp where the players are sluggish, and today was that day for his Bears, said it certainly held true for the kickers, but he wasn’t exactly offering them a life raft.
“It seemed like it. That’s no excuse. None of us can have that. They know they got to be better. Today wasn’t their day. But, again, how do they respond the next time they’re out there? That’s all.”
Attendance: Bears rookie WR Riley Ridley, who hadn’t practiced since suffering a right hamstring injury early on the first day, returned Monday, as did undrafted rookie OG Alex Bars, who suffered a knee contusion Friday. Taylor Gabriel was limited with a sore hamstring, and undrafted WR Emanuel Hall (groin) wasn’t spotted.
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