Bears training camp observations: Message sent to Nate Davis as OL continuity search continues

LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- The Bears returned to work Tuesday at Halas Hall for a light practice in shells as they begin preparations for Saturday's preseason game against the Buffalo Bills.

Right tackle Darnell Wright and left guard Teven Jenkins returned to practice after missing Sunday's padded work. Wright split reps with Larry Borom while Jenkins got a full practice in.

The return of Wright and Jenkins improves the chances that the Bears will allow rookie quarterback Caleb Williams to make his preseason debut on Saturday. Eberflus said the Bears will wait until Thursday to fully evaluate the line's health in front of Williams. They know it's important for the No. 1 overall pick to get game reps, but they won't risk his health to meet the 45-to-55 preseason snap threshold they set.

"Just being able to have game-like conditions," head coach Matt Eberflus said. "It’s good that way because you get to feel the pressure, and, you know, you can get hit back there, you can get sacked, and you got to be able to feel it like it’s a game. Of course, we try to do that every single practice, but there’s a benefit to having those real, live reps for everybody."

While Wright and Jenkins returned to practice, starting right guard Nate Davis once a limited participant as he works his way back from a strain.

During the offseason program, Eberflus said he expected Davis to be the Bears' starting right guard this fall.

That expectation has evaporated due to Davis' lengthy absence, unreliability, and the need to find continuity in front of Williams.

"If a person’s out for an extended period of time and the player that’s in that position is playing very well, at a starter level, and doing a good job there, then you create the competition," Eberflus said when asked if there was a date Davis needed to return by to maintain his starting spot. "You say, hey, there’s a competition. People say you can’t lose a job because of injury. I don’t think that’s true. I think if the guy that’s playing there gives our team a good look and a good benefit for him being in that position, then it’s a competition. Or the other guy could take it over."

The message is clear: If you want to keep your starting right guard job, you have to get on the field and stay there.

Since Davis has been out, the Bears have experimented with different offensive line combinations in front of Williams.

They have had Ryan Bates in at right guard when Coleman Shelton is in at center and have rotated different players at right guard when Bates is in at center.

With Davis out, the Bears' "best five" are Braxton Jones, Jenkins, Shelton, Bates, and Wright. There's a good chance that's their "best five," even when Davis is healthy.

The Bears still have 33 days until their Week 1 opener against the Tennessee Titans. It's early, but the Bears know they can't wait too long to find the five who will protect Williams.

“You want continuity and you want consistency for sure," Eberflus said. "That’s what you’re getting at and that is for sure the case. We will go as fast as we can to make that decision, but we’ll also have our patience and go as slow as we need to to make the right decision. I think it’s important that you look at it that way. Certainly we want to get it solidified, but sometimes injury plays into that where you get opportunity and position flex based on that. Everybody is not health all the time. But yeah, for sure we want the consistency to be there as fast as we can.”

On the field Tuesday, the Bears focused on red zone work and situational drills.

The offense had three pre-snap penalties in the red zone (two false starts, one delay of game).

Williams' best moment in the red zone came when he extended the play and found DJ Moore in the corner for a touchdown.

The Bears' offense struggled during the first situational period. They are backed up near their own goalline and tasked with getting a first down to give Tory Taylor room to punt.

D'Andre Swift ran for no gain on first down and Williams' next two passes fell incomplete.

Eberflus made the offense rerun the drill, and Williams hit Moore for a 15-yard gain on a slant to give Taylor more room to punt.

The Bears finished the day with an end-of-game two-minute drill.

The offense started with the ball on their own 30-yard line with 1:20 left, trailing by three.

Williams opened the drill with a 17-yard completion to Moore to get out near midfield.

After a batted-down pass at the line and a 4-yard run by Swift, the Bears faced a third-and-6 with 45 seconds left and the clock ticking. Williams snapped the ball and was immediately flushed by defensive end Austin Booker.

Williams evaded the rush and scampered down the sideline for a gain of 7 and a first down.

A 4-yard pass to Swift on first down forced the Bears to use their lone timeout with just over 20 seconds remaining. On second-and-6, Williams hit tight end Gerald Everett over the middle for a gain of 9. The quarterback rushed everyone to the line and spiked the ball with three seconds remaining to bring out Cairo Santos for a game-tying field goal, which he drilled.

Here are more notes from Day 13 of camp:

-- The Bears will experiment with Velus Jones Jr. at running back during this block of practices. Eberflus said that offensive coordinator Shane Waldron and his staff approached Jones with the idea, and the wide receiver was "open" to making the change.

"He's got a lot of talent," Eberflus said. "He's open to moving around, again, like we talked about, I think it was maybe last time we visited about, you know, if you're on the fringe of the roster or a guy that is competing for that fifth, sixth spot at receiver, halfback, whatever it might be, the more you can do. You know if you're a four core guy in special teams, the more you can utilize your talents across your base of the team, I believe that's a good thing for you, so that's what he's doing."

After this week, the Bears will re-evaluate Jones' role to determine if he goes forward at running back or at wide receiver.

-- Davis, cornerback Kyler Gordon, safety Jaquan Brisker, defensive end Montez Sweat, defensive tackle Andrew Billings, cornerback Tyrique Stevenson, running back Roschon Johnson, defensive end Jacob Martin, linebacker Noah Sewell, and running back Ian Wheeler did not participate in Tuesday's practice.

Gordon has been out for the past two weeks with what the Bears have characterized as tightness.

Sweat, Billings, Brisker, and Stevenson have missed the past week of action.

-- The Bears will be in pads on Wednesday as they look to ramp up for Saturday's game in Buffalo.

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