The Bears did not have an organized team activity on Tuesday but not by choice. The NFL forced them to cancel the scheduled OTA for violating the rules of direct contact during practice.
According to the Chicago Tribune’s Brad Biggs, the NFLPA was represented in OTA practice in May, and the Bears received a warning for a pad-less session that was too physical. Video of subsequent OTAs lost a working day between OTAs.
The Bears returned for practice on Wednesday.
Bears coach Matt Eberflus said neither he nor the organization had been fined.
“The hostel could be there, and it is, and you can see it,” Eberflus said via Biggs. “You were practicing. They run on crime. They run to the defense. Dude, we run. But the intensity part. The focus may be on the intensity but not the physical part until you get the pad. Once we take the pads to the training camp, we’re going to focus on how to play the intensity part. It cannot be done at this time of year. We look forward to seeing you there. There are kids, they’re flying around, they’re really going to the ball. It seems fast to me. ”
Cole Kemet explained the materiality of the practice as a young roster trying to impress the new coaching staff.
“We’re going 100 percent, and you’re being told to go 100 percent, and you want to show new employees,” said Kmet, who is entering his third season. “You have young people and children like me who want to live here and there. . . . And I think that’s a balance. ”
