Just a day before their Week 4 game, the Chicago Bears promoted quarterback Tyler Bray.
Why would they do that? If we’ve learned anything about the Chicago Bears and their quarterback situation, it’s that there’s never a lack of drama. So, of course they would promote their practice squad quarterback 24 hours before kickoff.
But, it’s a valid question asked by many fans and media. It seems a little odd that Chicago would sign Tyler Bray to their active roster this close to game day.
Let’s get the facts straight. First off, neither Mitchell Trubisky nor Nick Foles carry an injury designation into Sunday’s game with the Indianapolis Colts. That’s a positive.
Another fact: Teams can sign two extra players to the active roster before a game, per the new CBA. So, the Bears effectively can have 55 players going into game day rather than 53.
Another piece to the puzzle is the fact that the Bears protected Bray this week as one of their practice squad players whom cannot be signed by another team. So, promoting him had nothing to do with a different team wanting to steal him away. No matter what, they couldn’t. Bray was already protected.
Then, we received this nugget from Adam Hoge.
So, there’s no injury to either the no. 1 or no. 2 quarterbacks and Bray’s promotion had nothing to do with another team trying to go after him. Now we learn that he’ll likely be inactive.
The same question still stands. Why would they sign him to the active roster if it, in fact, means nothing?
A strong theory would be along the lines of a last-minute COVID-19 scare. Last week, just a day before their game against the Atlanta Falcons, cornerback A.J. Terrell tested positive. Sure, the game was put in jeopardy because of Terrell’s diagnosis. But, in the end, the game was played as scheduled after no additional positive tests showed up.
This week, we learned about several positive tests from the Tennessee Titans, thus postponing their game this weekend with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Those positive tests then worried many Minnesota Vikings fans, whom played Tennessee in Week 3.
Thankfully, no positive tests came out of Minnesota and they can conduct business as usual this week.
On top of all that, New England Patriots quarterback Cam Newton tested positive over the weekend, thus pushing back their game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
All of this news regarding positive tests could very well be the reason why the Bears aren’t playing around when it comes to the most important position in football. If they get a chance to sign two extra players to the roster, why not make one of them a quarterback, especially during a week with an influx of uncertainty?
No one is getting traded (for now, at least) and no one is injured. Bray wasn’t being targeted by another team, either. The reasoning behind his promotion has to be explained by mere carefulness by the Bears coaching staff.
The Bears would rather be safe than sorry this week. After all, they are one of the teams who have done a fantastic job this season in terms of their safety protocols.
