Chicago Bears miss Tuesday’s OTA due to an infraction
Chicago Bears first-year head Coach Matt Eberflus got caught implementing his H.I.T.S. principle too early. The Bears used live contact in May during practice, per multiple reports, first reported by the Chicago Tribune’s Dan Wiederer. That’s a violation of the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement.
UPDATE
According to a league source, the Bears were forced to wipe today’s OTA practice off the books completely after violating the offseason rules of the CBA with live contact during their May practices, which is prohibited.
A misstep by the new regime.
Hiccups like that can happen with a new staff. The Bears have a first-time head coach, first-time offensive coordinator in Luke Getsy, and a defensive coordinator, Alan Williams, whose only stint as a defensive coordinator in the NFL was a decade ago for the Minnesota Vikings. Bears general manager Ryan Poles is in his first season with that title.
We’ve all been there with early projects at our first job after a promotion. Sometimes it’s easy to overlook small details. Unfortunately, this blunder will cost the Bears needed reps in OTA’s, at a time when players say they’re having a hard enough time absorbing information in the new regimes’ schemes.
Violating CBA rules is a big deal
Some Bears theorists on Twitter took the position that the effect was a win for the team—if not done cleverly by the new staff—with some even wanting to get rid of the whistleblower. Because this rule is agreed upon by both the NFPLA and team owners the violation should not be looked upon lightly.
Players want this rule put in place for a reason, and it’s to keep their bodies healthy. They’re human beings, and they already risk their body in a physically demanding sport. More toll has been asked of them in the 17-week season. I hope Eberflus and the staff were just incompetent here, and not unprincipled. Trying to skirt around rights that their players fought to have can lead to poor morale in the future.
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