LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Kiran Amegadjie participated in his first Bears practice on Monday, albeit in a limited fashion. The team activated the rookie offensive tackle from the NFI list on Sunday.
“Looking forward to him,” said offensive coordinator Shane Waldron before practice on Monday. “Smart guy. Smart, tough and reliable that can start off with a good base already. But there's no substitute for getting out there and doing it. That's the biggest thing.”
Amegadjie participated in light individual drills on Monday, but didn’t make it onto the field for team drills. That light load to start was not surprising, since head coach Matt Eberflus has a policy of gradually ramping up the work for players who have missed a significant amount of time. Given Amegadjie’s absence throughout the entire offseason, the team could be especially cautious with his on-ramp.
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Mentally, Waldron insinuated there won’t be much of a ramp-up period for Amegadjie. He said Amegadjie has made sure to stay within earshot on the field so he can take mental reps, and he’s been plugged in during meetings.
“He stayed so locked in every opportunity he's had, so now it's just about going out there and doing it.”
When the Bears drafted Amegadjie in the third round of this year’s draft, they knew he had a lingering quadriceps injury, but they believed he would be ready for the start of training camp. The expectation was that he would at least push for a swing tackle job over the summer, but Amegadjie ended up missing over a month of camp. Now he has just 20 days to get in shape and make an impression on his coaches. That might not be enough time to significantly climb the depth chart.
The Bears might need him to progress quickly, though. Braxton Jones and Darnell Wright are each healthy now, but each man has also missed time this summer. The team has tried several players at the backup tackle positions, including Larry Borom, Ja’Tyre Carter, Matt Pryor and Jake Curhan. None of them have looked consistently solid on the edge. Injuries on the offensive line are a given for every team, every season, so it will be important for the Bears to land on a solid swing man before too long.
