Novelist Nicholas Sparks’ 1996 romantic tearjerker “The Notebook” has sold 105 million copies. It was made into an equally weepy hit movie in 2006 starring a young Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams.

Now get those hankies ready once again for the musical theater version, which on Tuesday has its world premiere at Chicago Shakespeare Theater.

It was early 2017 when singer-songwriter Ingrid Michaelson had a meeting with prolific Broadway producer Kevin McCollum (“Six,” “The Devil Wears Prada”) about working on an adaptation of the novel/film. While she wasn’t immediately hired, she was excited about the project.

“I started working on it immediately,” Michaelson recalls with a laugh. “I was busy writing songs but not actually hired until later that year.”

Michaelson was eventually paired with book writer Bekah Brunstetter, a writer and producer on the NBC drama “This Is Us.” The Broadway-bound project, originally scheduled for a fall 2020 premiere, was another in a long list of in-the-works theater pieces affected by the pandemic.

Brunstetter, who also is a playwright, found the extra time a huge help as the musical was workshopped via Zoom during the shutdown.

“There was more time to investigate and fix things about the book that you don’t always have time to do,” says Brunstetter, 40. “I was really able to focus on the book in more depth, which felt very special and necessary.”

As for Michaelson, she found her perception of reality and humanity shifting in good and bad ways during the pandemic,which affected the way she was looking at the piece. Songs she wrote in 2018-19 mean something totally different to her now.

“It really did allow, I think, an expansion of heart for all of us in our writing and in our conversations. I’m grateful that out of such a tumultuous world we had the opportunity to make something even better than when it started out being.”

“The Notebook” unfolds over the lifetimes of Allie and Noah, moving back and forth from their young romance to her descent into Alzheimer’s and his steadfast love and care for her.

Broadway directors Michael Greif (“Dear Evan Hansen,” “Next to Normal”) and Schele Williams (“Aida,” “Motown the Musical”) helm the production, which features choreography by Katie Spelman. The 13-member cast includes three actors each portraying Allie (Jordan Tyson, Joy Woods and Maryann Plunkett) and Noah (John Cardoza, Ryan Vasquez and John Beasley) at different chapters in their lives.

Brunstetter grew up in North Carolina near where the novel takes place, but it was another compelling connection that she says drew her to Allie and Noah’s story.

“There is a lot of Alzheimer’s in my family, and I’ve seen what it can do to relationships, so I felt that connection,” she says while also admitting to a bit of initial apprehension. “When I was first approached about it, I thought this could be very beautiful or very terrible. But then I heard Ingrid’s music, and I thought this is going to be powerful, beautiful, cathartic.”

Michaelson, 42, is known for her soulful folk-pop style on nine studio albums, including four Top 20 albums and two platinum singles: “The Way I Am” and “Girls Chase Boys.” Many of her songs turned up on soundtracks to TV shows and feature films.

Writing songs from another person’s perspective was a new challenge for Michaelson.

“It’s a departure from what I’ve done in the past. It wasn’t hard but it also wasn’t easy. Only one song from the original batch remains. I definitely have just as many songs that are not in the show as are in the show at this point.”

Once Brunstetter and Michaelson moved into the room with directors and actors, the musical came together in new ways.

“It’s not lost on me that this is our child that we have created, but without the help of many people it would not exist in its final form,” says Michaelson. “It does take a village.”

With the popularity of the novel and movie, “The Notebook” has a built-in audience, and Brunstetter hopes “the beautiful story” of undying devotion and love will also attract new fans.

“We hope people see it and leave with a renewed sense of how important your loved ones are. How all that matters at the end of the day is just making the best of the time you have with the people you love.”

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SEATTLE — Lance Lynn pitched a seven-inning masterpiece, AJ Pollock and Andrus homered, and the White Sox cooled off the red-hot Mariners with a 3-2 victory Monday to stay on the heels of the first-place Guardians in the American League Central.

Opening a seven-game road trip and winning for the fifth time in six games, the Sox (68-67) improved to 23-5 with they hit multiple homers and let Lynn do the rest. Kendall Graveman pitched a scoreless eighth and Liam Hendriks survived a perilous ninth, allowing a run and leaving the tying and winning runs in scoring position when he struck out pinch hitter Adam Frazier to end the game and halt Seattle’s seven-game winning streak.

Lynn retired the last 17 batters he faced and finished with seven innings of three-hit ball, allowing one unearned run while walking one and striking out 11. He lowered his ERA to 4.34, throwing 89 pitches and getting 25 swinging strikes.

Lynn owns a 2.28 ERA over his last nine starts, and boasts a 73-5 strikeouts to walks ratio in his last 10. His ERA over his last five starts is 1.42.

“The goal is to be playing meaningful baseball in September, and that’s what we’re doing,” said Aaron Bummer, who came off the injured list Monday for the stretch run. “Regardless of how the season’s gone so far, whether it be the first five months or anything, I feel like we’re in a spot to make a charge. We’ve just got to keep playing good baseball. We’re finally getting the pieces back and everybody healthy.”

Playing good baseball has been a talking point since the Sox started a 5-1 run that has them back in the AL Central picture, but it wasn’t good behind Lynn in the first three innings, although the right-hander was so good with his 22nd career game with double-digit strikeouts it didn’t threaten to derail them.

The Mariners got their run when right fielder Andrew Vaughn got a poor jump on Abraham Toro’s bloop single scoring Cal Raleigh from third after Raleigh got there on Yasmani Grandal’s passed ball. There was also a wild pitch on Lynn that was in Grandal’s blocking reach, but Lynn struck out Jake Lamb and Julio Rodriguez to strand two runners and limit the damage to a run.

Pollock homered against lefty Marco Gonzales in the second and Andrus homred to right in the third with Romy Gonzalez (single) on base, the ball tipping off right fielder Mitch Haniger’s glove near the top of the wall. Andrus, who has solidified the shortstop position after Tim Anderson’s injury, also made a pair of good plays in the field.

Bummer had been away on a rehab stint at Charlotte and joined the team in Chicago Sunday to catch the flight to Seattle.

“I think I got here in the fourth or fifth inning [Sunday],” Bummer said. “There is a different vibe, it felt like. It honestly kind of felt like September baseball, to where it was just doing the things that we needed to do. The goal is to go out there and win. That’s a pretty common goal. There’s a lot more energy. It felt good, honestly. It just felt good to be back. I think that everyone is excited that we’re getting healthy and we’ve got a chance to make a run at this thing.”

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When Jaylon Johnson talks about wanting to prove he’s an elite cornerback, what he really means is that he’s trying to convince the public.

He already knows it. And he’s sure his opponents do, too.

“I’m already one of the top corners,” he told the Sun-Times. “I just haven’t had the stats to back that up in terms of interceptions. But if we’re talking about strictly limiting guys, covering guys, I don’t think there’s too many guys in this league that can cover better than me.

“It’s more so about the media, especially going into my third year and having an opportunity to restructure a contract. I feel like that plays a part in that respect. But I know, for a fact, across the league that my name is respected. People know what I can do.”

For a fact?

“They’ve told me,” he said. “I’m not making this up… After every game, head coaches, quarterbacks, receivers will say, ‘Hey bro, I respect your game.’It’s not just something that I think I have.”

With a young and uncertain secondary, the Bears will need him to live up to that confidence every week. And Johnson will begin his campaign by taking on 49ers all-pro Deebo Samuel in the season opener Sunday.

Samuel caught 77 passes for 1,405 yards — more than half that total came after the catch — and six touchdowns last season, plus he rushed for 365 yards and eight touchdowns.

He lit up the Bears for 171 yards on six catches last season, though Johnson gave up just one of those for 16 yards. Samuel beat Kindle Vildor for 50 yards down the middle of the field and took a screen pass 83 while Johnson was in coverage elsewhere.

That was with Jimmy Garoppolo at quarterback. Now the 49ers are turning to Trey Lance, who started two games as a rookie last season after they drafted him third overall. Johnson credited Lance’s arm strength and running ability, “but he’s still got to prove himself to me.”

Regardless of the quarterback,the Bears would be smart to have Johnson shadow Samuel wherever he goes, and Johnson hopes they do.

“That’s what I look forward to, but that’s not up to me,” Johnson said.

He spent much of his offseason studying the top receivers he expects to face this season — the Vikings’ Justin Jefferson and the Dolphins’ Tyreek Hill await him — and has been eager to get started with Samuel.

“To go against him and showcase what I can do is another step in the right direction for me,” Johnson said.

The Bears are banking on Johnson, 23, to take the lead as they rebuild their secondary. Their other starters are rookie Kyler Gordon at nickel and Vildor, who got benched last season, on the outside.

They are question marks. Johnson cannot be.

He is one of the few sure things on the entire roster. Last season, he was the only Bears defensive back to hold opposing quarterbacks under 60% completions when they threw his way. He did as a rookie, too.

But the lack of interceptions is problematic. Johnson has just one in 28 career games.

“If I get four or five interceptions, I’ll probably be All-Pro and Pro Bowl easy,” he said. “But those are stat games, and at times, a name game. If I had a bigger name on a bigger team and we were winning, I don’t think I would be overlooked.”

The part about being on an irrelevant team is a valid complaint, but that’s not going to change unless Johnson helps make it happen. Causing turnovers is a piece of that. If he solidifies his status as a lockdown corner so emphatically that no one can refute it, not even general manager Ryan Poles, he’ll get thecontract extension he wants next year and become a pillar of the Bears’ rebuild.

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Bears safety Eddie Jackson knows the random nature of takeaways as much as anyone.

Jackson made an immediate, record-setting mark in the NFL in his first two seasons with eight interceptions, three forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries and five touchdowns — including returns of 76, 75 and 65 yards.

Since then, his magic touch has withered. In his last three seasons — often surrounded by playmakers such as Khalil Mack, Akiem Hicks and Roquan Smith –Jackson has two interceptions, five forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and one touchdown. His luck even turned, with two pick-6s getting nullified for questionable pass interference penalties in 2020. It comes and goes.

“I don’t know. It’s something about football,” Jackson said. “They always say, ‘When they come, they come in bunches.’ You just find yourself in a place with the ball and you’ve just got to capitalize on those plays.”

The drop in big plays and takeaways has been difficult for Jackson in recent years — and has been an especially sore subject since he signed a five-year, $58.4 million contract extension in 2020 that made him the highest-paid safety in the league. But his eyes light up when asked about takeaways now. He’s that confident that Matt Eberflus’ defense will return the bite to a once-vaunted defense.

“I really don’t know what it is. I can’t describe the feeling. I just know they’re coming,” Jackson said. “I get happy about it all the time, talking about it.

“It’s just they way we work and the way we run and the position we get put in. It’s always up to the person to make the plays when the plays come to ’em. But the way we run to the ball, man. It’s like when you run to the ball, good things seem to happen — a fumble might pop out or a tipped overthrow or something like that.”

It remains to be seen if the Bears will live up to the “T” in Eberflus’ H.I.T.S. principle. But they definitely need the boost. The Bears’ had 22 takeaways in 2017 and a league-leading 36 (including 27 interceptions) as Vic Fangio’s defense peaked in 2018. But since Fangio left to become the head coach of the Broncos, the Bears have had 19, 18 and 16 turnovers the past three seasons. Their total of 53 in that span ranks 28th in the NFL. Their 28 interceptions ranks 30th.

With Eberflus as defensive coordinator, the Colts were consistently taking the ball away –with 26, 23, 25 and 33 takeaways in his four seasons. They had 15 interceptions in 2018, 2019 and 2020 and 19 last season. Their 107 total takeaways in that span ranked second in the NFL.

Eberflus and defensive coordinator Alan Williams have instilled the hustle ethic it takes to make it work with the Bears defense.

“I used to tell myself, ‘I’m running to every ball.’ But you [don’t],” Jackson said. “Now it’s like we’re running to every ball. It’s just that feeling you get.”

Every defensive coach in America wants his team to get takeaways. But Eberflus, Williams and the coaching staffs they’ve been a part of have been better than most at instilling that mindset.

“We’re fanatical about it,” Williams said. “We don’t just put it up on the wall and say, ‘Hey, we’re gonna get turnovers.’ We work on it in practice. We work on it in individual [drills]. We work on it in group work [and] in our team situations.

“We practice intensely, so that what usually happens in practice usually [happens] in the game. You expect that however you practice, that’s how you’ll play. I just feel good about us taking the ball away.”

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ST. LOUIS — Cubs manager David Ross remembers the final regular-season home game of his career for a lot of reasons. The cheers just for him from the Wrigley Field crowd. The buzz of ESPN’s “Sunday Night Baseball” being in town. And it was 2016, of all wonderful times, when everything had a special edge to it.

But there was something else: a gesture by his Cardinals catching counterpart, Yadier Molina, before a Ross at-bat that gave fans time and space for a long, hearty standing ovation. Molina — a superstar, and certainly a more talented, accomplished player than Ross — dawdled subtly but purposefully as the cheers rose and Ross soaked in the love.

“It meant a lot to me,” Ross said, “and I’ve thanked him for that I think a gazillion times. It was really important to me how he handled that for me, and I’ll always respect him for that.”

Another nice moment came Sunday after Albert Pujols’ stirring 695th home run helped the Cardinals complete a series sweep with a 2-0 victory. As the Cardinals gathered near the mound for handshakes, Willson Contreras — who didn’t play in the series because of a troublesome ankle — hung over the dugout rail and waved and shouted until an opposing player finally saw him, tugged on Pujols sleeve and pointed Contreras’ way. The three-time All-Star doffed his cap to the Hall of Fame-bound legend, who doffed his own cap and in return.

With the Cubs rebuilding and Pujols and Molina about to retire — and Contreras himself getting ready to be a free agent — the I-55 rivalry certainly is entering a new phase. The Cardinals never really go out of win-now mode, and the Cubs might be chasing them for as long as elite stars Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arnado are still crushing it at the infield corners.

But someday, the faces of his rivalry could belong to former Stanford teammates Nico Hoerner and Tommy Edman. They lined up with Edman at short and Hoerner — two years younger — at second, with Hoerner moving over to his natural position after Edman moved on. Both were drafted by their current teams. Both reached the majors in 2019. Both have taken over at short. Both are becoming hitters to be reckoned with and serious-minded leaders with maturity beyond their years.

Edman made a living against the Cubs this season, collecting 25 hits in all and homering twice during the last series. Hoerner’s hot bat went cold at Busch Stadium — he was hitless in three games — but not even an awful September would take away from what the 25-year-old has established in 2022. The defense is there. The power is coming along. Hoerner as a cornerstone piece looks like a real thing.

“There’s no linear way to really go through this game,” he said. “There’s not many careers that go like that, where it’s just storybook, one thing to the next and you just consistently produce better and better and stay healthy.

“But I’m proud of where I’m at, and I think by just continuing to improve year by year — not knowing exactly what that looks like — but also trusting that process, I have a lot more to give in this game.”

Ross met Hoerner in a Wrigley suite in 2018, soon after Hoerner was drafted, and was struck by how much a college kid came off in conversation like a veteran big-leaguer. Infielder Patrick Wisdom calls Hoerner an “old soul” and an “assassin.”

“He’s quiet in the box and then — bam! — it explodes,” Wisdom said. “I love watching him play. I love having him out there. He’s smart, he’s prepared, he wants it, he’s a solid individual and he’s one of our best players.”

ON DECK: REDS AT CUBS

Tuesday: Justin Dunn (1-2, 4.63 ERA) vs. Wade Miley (1-0, 2.84 ERA), 6:40 p.m., Marquee, 670-AM.

Wednesday: Mike Minor (3-10, 5.98) vs. Javier Assad (0-0, 0.90), 6:40 p.m., Marquee, 670-AM.

Thursday: Luis Cessa (3-2, 5.18) vs. Adrian Sampson (1-5, 3.95), 1:20 p.m., YouTube, 670-AM.

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Teven Jenkins may have been out with an injury, or he may have had an issue with how he was being treated by the front office and the coaching staff, and it may very well be the latter.

Teven Jenkins should be the starting right guard for the Chicago Bears headed into the week-1 matchup versus the San Francisco 49ers.  But Jenkins likely won’t remain the starter with center Lucas Patrick returning from his injury and being a key free agent addition to the Bears’ offensive line.

Patrick is going to start somewhere, the question is where?  If his hand isn’t ready for the demands of snapping the football, then he may very well wind up shifting to the starting right guard, which means Jenkins is immediately the odd man out.

So you can imagine how Teven Jenkins must feel given these ever-changing circumstances that never really changed at all.  Nor did these circumstances see Jenkins get a fair chance to compete for a starting offensive line spot throughout training camp.

The Bears’ starting offensive line from the beginning of OTAs was left tackle Braxton Jones, left guard Cody Whitehair, center Lucas Patrick, right guard Sam Mustipher, and right tackle Larry Borom.  That’s the same exact offensive line the Bears are most likely to start with in week 1 against the 49ers.

Teven Jenkins was asked to move from left tackle to right tackle and he never really got a fair shot against Larry Borom who has been arguably the worst pass blocker on the roster throughout the preseason.  Jenkins’ next best shot seemed to be as the swing tackle between left and right. That competition never materialized either.

Lastly, Jenkins was given “the chance to compete for the right guard spot” a competition he won going away and is now likely to have lost.  Jenkins looks like a dominant starting right guard of the future, but it’s almost clear that the Bears are putting Mustipher or Patrick into that spot.

Ryan Poles actions speak louder than his media platitudes

Ryan Poles then goes out and claims Alex Leatherwood off of waivers to come in and compete for the swing tackle spot between Jenkins and Borom, with Jenkins being the odd man out there as well.

So where would you be at mentally if you were told to shift to two new positions, and you’re arguably the best player at those two positions but are most likely to be benched after busting your ass to win a starting spot?  If I’m Teven Jenkins I’m wanting out of Chicago and to get a fresh start with a team that’s actually going to treat me fairly.

Teven Jenkins has not gotten a fair shake with the Chicago Bears.  Instead, he’s been strung along, been the subject of trade rumors that won’t die, and is now being shown that other players are more highly regarded at the positions he competed at and won the right to start at, but will likely wind up further down the depth chart, after all, is said and done.

The only logical conclusion to this is for the Bears to treat Jenkins fairly and trade him and get whatever they can get for him in the trade market.  Jenkins has earned the right to be a starter in the NFL ahead of both Borom and Mustipher.  Jenkins has earned the right to be the front runner as a swing tackle ahead of Alex Leatherwood, but Ryan Poles obviously feels differently, judging by his actions.

Poles has made it clear he has no place for Jenkins on the Chicago Bears’ roster going forward and it’s up to Poles to give Jenkins a fair chance with another team.  Ryan Poles needs to drop the charade and move on from Teven Jenkins, because it’s obvious he doesn’t want him in Chicago.

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The Trey Lance vs. Justin Fields match-up may be the ultimate decider in the Bears’ season opener.

The Chicago Bears open up the season against the San Francisco 49ers who made it all the way to the NFC Title game a year ago.  Top to bottom, the 49ers have one of the best rosters in the NFL.  They have a strong offensive line, good receivers, a good rushing attack, and one of the best TEs in the game.  On defense, they have good interior players, one of the best pass rushers in the NFL, one of the best linebackers in the NFL and a strong secondary.

Everything the 49ers have is the opposite of what the Bears have and therefore the 49ers should dominate the Bears in the opener.

The 49ers have seven players in the Top-100 players in the NFL as voted on by their peers.

Those players are wide receiver Deebo Samuel (No. 19), tight end George Kittle (No. 22), defensive end Nick Bosa (No. 25), linebacker Fred Warner (No. 47), safety Jimmie Ward (No. 96), and fullback Kyle Juszczk (No. 100).

The Chicago Bears on the other hand have only three players in the NFL Top-100, including running back David Montgomery (No. 98), linebacker Roquan Smith (No. 84), and defensive end Robert Quinn (No. 48).

But the overall talent gap is immense across the roster.  The 49ers have exactly what fans of the Chicago Bears want.

That being said, the Bears have one advantage right now that no one is talking about, at the quarterback position.  Both Trey Lance and Justin Fields were drafted in the same NFL draft and both were supposed to sit out the year and develop within the system.  The problem is Justin Fields ran away with the starting job in training camp and then when Andy Dalton struggled and then was injured became the starter.

So Fields has experience where Trey Lance has minimal.  In the preseason Justin Fields showed immense promise and growth, whereas Trey Lance struggled.  The 49ers are so confident in Trey Lance in fact, that they refused to trade Jimmy Garoppolo and instead came to a reduced contract agreement to keep him in San Francisco just in case Lance struggles this season in a season where the 49ers are expected to compete for a Super Bowl title.

So a deep dive into the reality of the NFL presents us with the “any given Sunday” conundrum.  Basically, this is the NFL, both teams have professional football players, and the gap in talent between the top teams and the bottom teams isn’t the same as it is in college football.  The Bears are fully capable of beating the 49ers at home and they’re capable of beating the 49ers based on how well Justin Fields plays over Trey Lance.

The best of teams have oftentimes been derailed by a lack of solid QB play.  The Bears aren’t going to have that problem with Justin Fields.  Justin Fields is on the verge of turning the corner and becoming a great QB. Fields has shown throughout training camp and the preseason that he has full command of the Bears’ offense because they’ve built that offense around him instead of trying to fit him into an offense that he can’t run.

While most media members were looking for perfection from Fields, what they kept reporting on was growth from Fields.  That growth in turn showed up in the games.  Without question, it will show up in week one against the 49ers.

So the Bears have a lot of potential on offense, with Cole Kmet, Darnell Mooney, David Montgomery, Larry Borom, Teven Jenkins and Braxton Jones.  The Bears don’t know what they have but they will be better on offense than they were a year ago because Mooney and Kmet will be better than they were a year ago within this offense.  Those are proven commodities that shouldn’t be overlooked.

On the offensive line, the Bears faced a multitude of issues that led to their highest sack rate in the NFL.  Starting with 4 different offensive tackles who started games for the Bears a year ago constituting a combined 36 games missed.  Add to it that only 15 designed rollouts were called all year long,  a non-existent screen game and very little play-action pass usage and you were basically telling the defensive line to rush to a single point and that will disrupt Matt Nagy’s entire scheme.  That won’t be the case this year under Luke Getsy as the Bears have already shown

So the San Francisco 49ers have the proven talent advantage at almost every position group across the line, but one.  The Trey Lance versus Justin Fields battle may be what ultimately decides the game between the Bears and the 49ers.  The advantage is with San Francisco in overall talent, but an opportunistic Bears secondary could shift momentum with a couple of key turnovers that ultimately decide the game.

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Five-and-a-half weeks after breaking his right thumb on the second day of training camp, Lucas Patrick returned to practice Monday. How he fares this week will determine whether he’s the Bears’ starting center — or guard — on Sunday.

“We’ve got to look and see where he is, what he can handle, what he can do,” head coach Matt Eberflus said. “And then go from there.”

If Patrick’s right hand isn’t healthy enough to snap, he could play right guard instead of Teven Jenkins. That would leave Sam Mustipher at center, the position he’s played all preseason long.

The Bears have been working Patrick at both positions, Eberflus said. The head coach left open the possibility that Patrick’s return could lead to changes across the line, but said “it’ll be a Wednesday-Thursday assessment” of his health that decides where he plays.

“Just how he’s moving around, his conditioning level, where he’s at,” Eberflus siad. “He can certainly function at a bunch of different spots for us. We’re looking at all those.”

Patrick declined comment Monday.

Mustipher started all 17 games at center last year but seemed destined for a backup role after the Bears gave Patrick a two-year, $8 million contract in March to leave Green Bay. The Bears have been pleased with Mustipher’s play in his place.

“How about Sam Mustipher?” general manager Ryan Poles said last week. “Stepping in and doing a pretty good job at center as well. That’s another guys who’s gritty and tough.”

Scouting Trey

The Bears aren’t sure what to expect from 49ers quarterback Trey Lance, but they know how they’ll mimic him during practice this week — both with third-string quarterback Nathan Peterman and position players who share Lance’s speed.

“We’ll take some athletes and get some different guys in there that can do that, for sure …” Eberflus said. “We’ve done that before.”

Lance started only two games as a rookie and appeared in four more. He completed 41-of-71 passes for 603 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions. He was officially named the 49ers’ starter in July, after the 49ers made it clear they wanted to trade Rolling Meadows High School and Eastern Illinois alumJimmy Garoppolo. A shoulder injury complicated the market for Garoppolo, who eventually restructured his contract and stayed in San Francisco as the backup.

“You’re projecting a little bit,” Eberflus said. “You have to project how they’re going to use [Lance] and where they’re going to use him in their offense.

“We certainly have an idea of what the offense looks like. But how they’re going to use him, no one really knows. You’re going to use your rules and have your calls and make sure you’re sound, what you’re doing.”

This and that

Eberflus will name four permanent captains on Wednesday. Each week, the Bears will add one player as “honorary captain,” Eberflus said, giving them five total. Under head coach Matt Nagy, the Bears had different captains each week.Every Bears player practiced Monday except for rookie defensive end Dominique Robinson, who suffered a leg injury in the preseason finale against the Browns.Read More

The Chicago Bears got good news on the injury front with projected starters Lucas Patrick and Byron Pringle returning from injuries that kept them out most of training camp.

Center Lucas Patrick and wide receiver Byron Pringle both missed almost the entirety of training camp with injuries.  They now return to put the Bears nearly back at full strength on offense headed into the week one opener.

Getting back these two key players in the week leading up to the opener has always been the hope and now that’s turned into reality.  Lucas Patrick may be starting at the right guard position if he isn’t ready to snap the ball with the hand he broke in like the second practice.  Patrick’s return means there will be a lot of shifting around on the offensive line.

Is Sam Mustipher the starting center with Patrick now slated to slide to the right guard spot ahead of Teven Jenkins?  Was Teven Jenkins’ ascension to the starting right guard spot a gimmick to raise his trade value?  Jenkins did everything possible to win a starting spot, what kind of message does it send to him if he’s benched in favor of someone who didn’t practice at right guard throughout the last month and a half of practice?

Byron Pringle sliding into the starting role as a wide receiver always seemed like a foregone conclusion.  Pringle was a key free agency signing to help bolster the receiving core for Justin Fields.  Ryan Poles knew about him and he targeted him to be a starter.

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