Chicago Sports

The Chicago Bears activate wide receiver off of injured reserve

The Chicago Bears have been waiting since July to see wide receiver, N’Keal Harry, play during the season. Harry sustained an injury in training camp. He returned to practice last week after the Bears activated his 21-day practice window.

According to a statement by the Chicago Bears Monday, the team activated Harry off the injured reserve.

That’s a good sign for the Bears. Quarterback Justin Fields will have another pass catcher to target. He’s currently trying to lead the Bears’ offense with a motley crew of wide receivers, as the team has suffered several injuries. Harry will add more to the Bears’ offense than the passing game. He is known for being helpful as a run blocker.

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This was what everyone wanted from Justin Fields, and him taking a step forward is far more consequential in the long run than the Bears losing a game to the Vikings five games into their rebuild.

Fields said Sunday was the most comfortable he has felt under coach Matt Eberflus and offensive coordinator Luke Getsy, and film study of the Bears’ 29-22 defeat verified that. He was patient rather than taking off at the first hint of pressure, his throws were largely accurate and he spearheaded a comeback bid that fell apart when wide receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette got stripped.

Fields completed 15 of 21 passes for 208 yards with a touchdown pass for his first triple-digit passer rating at 118.8 while operating mostly out of the shotgun. He also ran eight times for 47 yards.

He gave the Bears hope, and he’s still at the stage — it was his 15th start — where that matters. But if he’s going to be a true franchise quarterback, this needs to be the floor for him, not the ceiling.

Here’s a closer look at the details from Fields’ best performance of the season:

Sharp second half

Fields really turned it up in the second when he completed 12 of 13 passes for 135 yards.

Predictably, when the offensive line held up, he looked great. He had all the time he needed to make the right read and throw with sound mechanics.

That happened on a second-and-seven early in the third quarter. Fields faked a draw to running back David Montgomery, wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown ran a precise route up and to the right sideline and Fields hit him perfectly in stride for 18 yards.

More importantly, however, Fields navigated imperfect circumstances.

He was under pressure quickly on third-and-seven with 6:15 left in the third quarter and reacted with a throw to Darnell Mooney just short of the first down but with plenty of space for a 13-yard play. The Vikings’ pass rush got to him almost instantly again on second-and-eight with 11:56 left in the game, and Fields made a quick read to find tight end Cole Kmet over the middle for 10 yards.

Big plays erased

Fields missed out on 27 more yards passing because wide receiver Dante Pettis dropped two third-down throws in the first half. One of those was a 22-yarder that would’ve been negated by center Sam Mustipher’s holding penalty anyway.

Fields also saw a 12-yard scramble vanish because right guard Teven Jenkins got flagged for holding. And, most painfully, his would-be 52-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter was nullified by Ihmir Smith-Marsette’s block in the back against Cam Dantzler.

Smith-Marsette said Dantzler flopped, and Eberflus seemed to agree Monday.

“It was great effort by [Smith-Marsette]; I thought he got in position,” he said. “At the end, the guy kind of spun and threw his arms up, and they called it.”

Regardless, it was a total of 64 yards rushing erased by penalties, and the Bears kicked field goals on both of those drives.

Mustipher made another costly mistake at the start of the second quarter, when he snapped the ball before Fields was ready and Fields had to fall on it to avoid a turnover at his own 13-yard line. There was little chance of salvaging the possession, and the Bears went three-and-out.

Fields said he was using a leg kick to signal for the snap because of the noise level at U.S. Bank Stadium, and Mustipher mistakenly thought he saw that.

“I was trying to come up and can the play or change protection, but when I was walking up, he got that leg kick mixed up with me walking up,” he said. “Next time… I’ll be more decisive with my body movement in a loud environment like this.”

Missed opportunities

The Bears missed out on points as they settled for a 50-yard field goal on their first drive thanks to a miscue between Fields and Mooney. That’s concerning. The Fields-Mooney connection needs to be the most reliable component of the passing game.

Mooney had separation streaking into the left side of the end zone past Smith on what could’ve been a 26-yard yard touchdown pass, but Fields threw to the sideline to steer clear of an interception. Mooney said it was his error.

When the Bears went for two after their touchdown in the third quarter, Dantzler looked like he knew the play better than they did. Fields hit Pettis behind the line of scrimmage, but Dantzler was already there and threw him down before he could take a step. If Fields had recognized that, he could’ve called an audible.

And, of course, that final play was exasperating.

Fields made a prudent pass to Smith-Marsette that led him toward the left sideline, and if he had stepped out, the Bears would’ve had the ball at the Vikings’ 39-yard line with at least 1:07 left, a timeout in hand and Fields playing at full throttle.

Given the strides Fields made in the second half, it would’ve been fascinating to see how that ended.

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The Bears’ second-half defense is one of the most promising indicators for Matt Eberflus and his coaching staff.

The Bears have consistently been better in the second half than the first through Eberflus’ first five games. Their plus-54 points differential from the first half (80 points allowed) to the second (26) is the best in the NFL. Their 26 points allowed in the second half is the fifth fewest in the league. The Bears have allowed fewer points in the second half in each game.

Those numbers indicate two coaching traits that bode well for the Bears long term under Eberflus: that Eberflus’ philosophy of conditioning a resilience in hishis players built on mental and physical toughness is paying dividends; and that the Bears’ coaching staff is making effective halftime adjustments.

Sunday’s 29-22 loss to the Vikings, though, exposed one flaw in that narrative –the first half/second half disparity is too great. The Bears’ slow starts defensively are not only putting pressure on a formative offense, but also their own defense.

After allowing three touchdowns and 307 yards in the first half against the Vikings, the Bears responded as expected in the second half. They stopped the Vikings on their first two drives — a blocked field goal and cornerback Kindle Vildor’s interception.

But after Cairo Santos’ 51-yard field goal gave the Bears a 22-21 lead with 9:26 left in the fourth quarter, the Bears’ defense wilted. The Vikings’ drove 80 yards on 17 plays for the winning touchdown. The Bears’ defense was on the field for 74 plays. After allowing 7.0 yards per play in the first half, they allowed 4.1 yards per play in the second. But it was all for nought.

“There were some huge adjustments that we made [in the second half]. Just got to get to them a little quicker,” linebacker Roquan Smith said.

Because of those slow starts, the Bears have trailed in the first half of each games this season — against the 49ers (10-0), the Packers (24-3), the Texans (14-6), the Giants (14-6) and the Vikings (21-3).

“Just got to start faster,” Eberflus said. “Keep [doing] what we’re doing in the second half and just start faster. Your next question is going to be, ‘How?’ We’ve got to bring it to the attention of the coaches and the players and set it up for practice.”

Eberflus said he didn’t think the Bears were coming out flat. “Our guys are ready to go,” he said. “I see it as just executing, setting our guys up as coaches [to have] success in the beginning. We can do a better job.”

It sounds like it will be up to the coaching staff to figure this one out, because there doesn’t appear to be any reason for such a disparity.

“If I knew the answer, I’d tell you,” linebacker Nick Morrow said. “We’ve just got to to execute at a higher rate earlier in the game. I don’t know if there’s any true answer because it’s not a different set of players on the field in the second half. It’s the same players, the same coaching staff. So we just gotta play better in the first half. We gotta figure it out.”

With Justin Fields and the offense still on training wheels, the defense was expected to be an anchor in Eberflus’ first season. While hardly a disaster, it’s been a bit of a disappointment. But this defense still has a chance to be more like the second-half team than the first.

“Every man has to look himself in the mirror and say, ‘Hey, when the game starts, I’ve got to be ready,'” Smith said. “Because if [you’re] not, guys in this league are going to take advantage of you. Even though we are a second-half team, we have to be a first-and second-half team.”

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The Bears activated N’Keal Harry from injured reserve Monday, clearing the way for the wide receiver to make his season debut Thursday night against the Commanders at Soldier Field.

Harry suffered a high ankle sprain during a training camp practice in early August and had surgery to hasten his return. When the season began, the Bears put him on IR, which cost him the first four games of the season. Harry returned to practice last week but did not get activated for Sunday’s 29-22 loss to the Vikings.

The Bears’ wide receiver room is one of the least potent in the NFL, and it’s unlikely that Harry’s return changes that. But the former first-round pick — for whom the Bears sent a 2023 seventh-round pick to the Patriots in July –is a big-bodied pass catcher that could help them in the red zone, where the Bears have struggled.

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The Chicago Cubs express interest in tendering a qualifying offer to pending free agent Willson Contreras 

As speculated, the Chicago Cubs front office will tender catcher and soon-to-be free agent Willson Contreras a qualifying offer, according to team president of Baseball operations, Jed Hoyer.

Hoyer held his traditional end-of-season news conference Monday morning and covered a wide range of topics, including the future of the All Star..

“We’ll obviously make him a qualifying offer and we’ll continue that dialogue,” Hoyer said. “We’ve talked to Willson. We’ve talked to his representatives.

“We’ve always had a really good relationship. I admire how he competes, and I admire the passion.”

Contreras’ future was a storyline throughout the 2022 season. The Cubs shopped him leading up to the trade deadline but ultimately hung on to him.

The Venezuelan is set to become a free agent for the first time in his career following seven seasons with the Cubs and 14 overall in the organization.

Should Contreras decline the QO — a one-year deal worth around $19 million, then the Cubs will receive a draft pick as compensation.

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Does Justin Fields know how to survive the NFL game better now?

Headlines from the Chicago Bears 2021 preseason were quick to make note of then-rookie quarterback Justin Fields’ comments about NFL game speed. Following Field’s first-ever preseason game, he told reporters the speed was slow. It was an odd comment coming from a rookie player. Usually, players need time to adjust to the fast pace of the NFL compared to college.

Fields would have a lot to learn about the speed for the rest of the season. He struggled for most of his 2021 campaign. Fields was then paired with a new offensive coordinator Luke Getsy in a new regime. He has struggled to start the 2022 season. However, the former Ohio State product showed signs of actual progress in Week 5 against the Minnesota Vikings. Fields seemed to adjust to what the Vikings threw at him.

Justin Fields has a new take on the speed of the NFL

Following the Bears’ loss to the Vikings, Justin Fields gave an updated take on game speed. Fields’ views were more mature and nuanced than they were following his first-ever exhibition game in the league. According to Chris Emma with The Score, Fields said he’s learning to deal with the pace his own way.

“When I first got here, you see big guys flying around, D-linemen going fast, you just think you have to speed everything. I’m just starting to figure out that you got to play within your own rhythm,” Fields said.

The Vikings are the kind of defense Fields might have those revelations with. The Vikings have the 25th-worst passing defense so far this year. It’s good that Fields says he’s more comfortable after Week 5. However, one should be skeptical that Fields has mastered his “rhythm” until he can string together a few more games like the one he had against the Vikings. That would tell us more about what Fields will be capable of in the future.

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No one runs more than the Bears, and that won’t change anytime soon. Their 60.2 percent run rate is so much more frequent than any other team in the NFL –the Falcons rank second with 54.5 percent — that the Bears can be guaranteed of holding onto their crown through at least Halloween.

Sunday, though, was the Bears’ biggest step toward building balance.

Justin Fields is starting to resemble a modern quarterback driving a passing attack that, although it’s no one’s idea of futuristic, doesn’t seem trapped in the past the way it did at the end of September.

Over the Bears’ first three games, passing accounted for 29.6 percent of the Bears’ total yards. In the last two contests, 60.5 percent of the Bears’ yards have come through the air.

In the first three games– against the 49ers, Packers and Texans –the Bears threw on 28.3 percent of their downs. Against the Giants and Vikings, they’ve passed 40.2 percent of the time.

They’re not doing their best impression of a single-wing offense anymore.

“I just think it’s growing,” coach Matt Eberflus said Monday. “The guys are growing. The players are getting used to the scheme. The timing’s getting better, the rhythm’s getting better. ….

“You can feel Justin comfortable where he is right now in the offense.”

That cuts both ways, Eberflus said. With each passing week, the new coaching staff is learning how to best prepare the offense for the quarterback, learning “what guys are good at, and really playing to his strengths.”

The last few weeks, Eberflus said he’s seen Fields “taking command” at practice, telling receivers when their route depths are wrong and explaining to them the way he wants things done. Chicago has heard that line before — Mitch Trubisky was the king of Thursday back-field practices — but Fields is starting to transfer that comfort level to game day. He said after Sunday’s 29-22 loss that he felt as relaxed as he had all season. His 118.1 passer rating and 71.4 completion percentage were the best of his career, and his 208 passing yards was the fifth-best effort he’d given in 15 starts.

“I just felt poise, and him calm and confident back there,” Eberflus said.

Sunday’s pass-happy performance — by the Bears’ lowly standards — wasn’t a result of the team chasing points, either. The Bears were within at least one score of the Vikings — or ahead of them — for all but four-and-a-half minutes of the second half. Fields went 12-of-13 for 135 yards, one touchdown and a 135.5 passer rating in the second half

“To have that balance is good,” running back David Montgomery said. “It helps in the run game, and the run game helps the pass game. It helps in all facets of the game. You’ve got to be able to do both. We’re trending up to getting better in both.”

Not that anyone will mistake them for the “Greatest Show on Turf” Rams. Entering the Monday night game, NFL teams have thrown passes on 54.4 percent of their plays. Under first-time play-caller Luke Getsy, the Bears pass 39.8 percent of the time. That doesn’t count called passes that result in Fields scrambling or the quarterback getting sacked. The last two games alone, Fields ran on 13 called pass plays and was sacked eight times.

The pass game is becoming competent, which gives Getsy options. That, in turn, gives Fields a more honest chance to show the Bears what he can do — which is the entire point of the rebuilding season.

“You want to have balance, but you want to take what the defense gives you. …” Eberflus said. “It’s important to have all those weapons in your offense. We’re growing in that way, and we’re starting to see the benefit of that.”

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Jed Hoyer described it as a “great feeling” to hear Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts say the president of baseball operations has the flexibility to use financial resources how he sees fit this offseason.

“If we get to a place where we ask for a significant amount of money or to sign one player or several players, I have no doubt that we’ll have his blessing,” Hoyer said during his end-of-season press conference Monday. “And I have no doubt the resources will be there.”

Don’t expect, however, a total reversal of the Cubs’ offseason approach from last year, when their big acquisitions were outfielder Seiya Suzuki (five-year, $85 million deal contract) and Marcus Stroman (three years, $71 million).

Hoyer fell back on familiar tropes from a year ago. The Cubs are going to focus on “intelligent spending,” for example. Keep that in mind when the club is mentioned in speculation about top free agents like Aaron Judge, who reportedly turned down a seven-year $213.5 million extension offer from the Yankees.

“I want to build on the momentum that we created at the end of the year,” Hoyer said, “but I know that we have some holes to fill, and we’ll be aggressive to try to fill those holes in the best way possible. And I think we can definitely compete next year. And we also want to create something lasting and special.”

The Cubs can take steps toward those goals even before free agency opens after the World Series.

When asked if the team had broached extension conversations with players like Ian Happ and Nico Hoerner – who are entering their last and first years of arbitration, respectively – Hoyer said they’ve “taken the first steps.” He then reiterated the club’s policy against addressing extension negotiations while talks are ongoing.

“Certainly there are players we’d love to keep in a Cub uniform for a long time,” Hoyer said, “and hopefully we can work hard on those and get some across the finish line.”

The Cubs also have several impending free agents who they could bring back.

Hoyer said the Cube will extend a qualifying offer to Willson Contreras. The veteran catcher is expected to turn it down. They also have a pair of veteran pitchers, Drew Smyly and Wade Miley, who Hoyer spoke highly of Monday.

“With both guys, in the right setup, we’d love to have them back,” Hoyer said. “They both have a really positive impact on the organization. And there’s no finish line when it comes to adding guys that can make starts in the big leagues and that can add to your culture.”

Further talks between the Cubs and Smyly’s camp are expected this month, working toward a possible reunion next season, according to sources.

While Smyly has a $10 million mutual option for 2023, it’s more likely the parties will negotiate a new contract.

Miley’s situation is more up in the air. He only made nine appearances for the Cubs this year due to injuries and will have to prove that he can stay healthy.

Hoyer maneuvered around a question about where a top-of-the-rotation arm fits into the club’s offseason priorities.

“We’re actively looking for quality innings,” Hoyer said, “pitchers we feel like we can work with and potentially make better.”

The shortstop market also presents an opportunity for the Cubs to improve, potentially moving Hoerner to second base and signing an established shortstop out of another strong free agent class.

“We have total confidence in Nico’s ability to play shortstop, and he proved that this year,” Hoyer said. “But … the game is about to trend more athletic. Getting rid of the shift will force that, some of the base running rules will force that.”

Hoyer insisted the Cubs want to compete next season. But he said that a year ago, too.

“We certainly want next season to look a lot more like our second half than our first half [this season],” Hoyer said. “And if it does, we do have a chance to be in the race and play meaningful games throughout the entire season. And hopefully, that means competing in October.”

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Should the Chicago Bears inquire about wide receiver D.J. Moore?

The Carolina Panthers made the decision to fire head coach Matt Rhule on Monday, following a 1-4 start to the season. With the move, it signals a move that the team is looking more towards the future and a rebuild in Carolina.

And the Panthers have some intriguing pieces.

A new report on Monday from Jay Glazer suggests that teams will now be calling the Panthers for players and one hot name will be wide receiver D.J. Moore.

The Bears have plenty of room in their budget to take on a player like D.J. Moore even with his cap hit of $6.1M. The other teams that are in competition with the Bears for the wide receiver would be the Patriots and Giants.

Can the Bears afford D.J. Moore?

In his current contract situation with the Panthers, according to Spotrac, he will earn a base salary of $1,035,000, a signing bonus of $19.5M and a workout bonus of $200,000, a cap hit of $6.1M as previously mentioned, and a dead cap value of $41,810,000. In 2023, the Panthers would have to eat about $15M in a trade, which makes things difficult for them to move him.

Moore is a proven receiver that has gone over 1,000 yards in the past three seasons. He’d be a legit WR1 with Chicago to pair along with Darnell Mooney. More importantly, it gives Justin Fields a young weapon on offense to build for the future.

Moore is a player to keep an eye on moving forward in terms of trade talks but we have to understand it is a bit of a different situation with the money.

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Jaylon Johnson went through a workout on the field at U.S. Bank Stadium hours before the Bears played the Vikings on Sunday. The next day, Bears head coach Matt Eberflus sounded optimistic that his standout cornerback could play Thursday against the Commanders.

“We’re hopeful that he’ll be ready to go,” Eberflus said Monday.

Johnson hurt his quad during practice Sept. 22, three days before the team’s Week 3 game against the Texans. He returned to practice for the first time Friday and was listed as doubtful for the Vikings game before being ruled out 90 minutes before kickoff.

Eberflus said that he was “hopeful” at this time last week that Johnson could play against the Vikings, too. The Bears will put out a mock injury report Monday saying which players could have practiced — if they’d held one. Instead, they will have a light walk-through.

Johnson will go through a workout after the walk-through.

“We’ll see where he is,” Eberflus said.

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