On a busy day at Halas Hall, the Chicago Bears preceded their Wednesday afternoon practice with coach Matt Eberflus and quarterback Caleb Williams addressing Tuesday’s firing of offensive coordinator Shane Waldron and Waldron’s successor, Thomas Brown, sharing his vision for how he can hopefully provide a spark to a group that needs one.
The Bears are preparing to welcome the Green Bay Packers to Soldier Field on Sunday. They don’t have much time to work through this transition at such a pivotal point in the season. But the team struck an optimistic tone on Wednesday, hoping that a spike in energy can lead to a spike in production.
Here are three other things we learned at Halas Hall.
1. Waldron’s abrupt exit this week, after only nine games as offensive coordinator, produced mixed reactions.
Receiver DJ Moore said Waldron’s firing registered as “shocking” to him.
“I don’t think anybody really asked for him to be gone,” Moore said. “We expressed our frustration but never to have somebody’s livelihood taken away.”
Williams, meanwhile, seemed more accepting of the move than enthusiastic and noted that he was still very much in a getting-to-know-you process with Brown just as the start of NFC North play begins.
Veteran wide receiver Keenan Allen was asked directly why he thought things didn’t work out with Waldron.
“I would say (he was) just probably too nice of a guy,” Allen said. “I think during OTAs and training camp, he kind of fell into a trap of letting things go. Not holding people accountable. Obviously those things lead to a slippery slope.”
Without naming names or sharing specifics, Allen referenced issues with “professionalism” and “just doing things the right way from the beginning.” He also believes Brown’s demeanor will create a different vibe.
“He’s just more of a don’t-take-(bulls−−−) type of guy,” Allen said. “Won’t accept it either. So we’ll see how it goes.”
Tight end Cole Kmet also took a stab at explaining why Waldron didn’t succeed as the team’s coordinator, particularly during the current three-game losing streak during which the offense has scored only two touchdowns on 34 possessions.
“The results just weren’t there, unfortunately,” Kmet said. “These past three weeks have been tough. We just haven’t really gotten anything going. And while we have (had success) before and executed at a high level, it hasn’t been on a consistent basis. And these past three weeks just haven’t been good enough. We’re definitely not where we should be at this point.”
2. The Bears are getting healthier on the offensive line.
Starting offensive tackles Braxton Jones and Darnell Wright, who missed last weekend’s loss to the Patriots with knee injuries, returned to practice Wednesday as limited participants. Guard Teven Jenkins remains out with the right ankle injury he suffered during the first half Sunday.
The Bears’ health up front will remain a major factor as the offense tries to get back on track this week against the Packers.
In other injury news, safety Jaquan Brisker still has not been cleared from the concussion he suffered on Oct. 6 and has already been ruled out for Sunday’s game. That will be Brisker’s fifth consecutive missed game.
Defensive end Montez Sweat also missed Wednesday’s practice with an ankle issue. Others listed on the injury report were Kiran Amegadjie (did not practice, calf), Tarvarius Moore (DNP, concussion), Noah Sewell (limited, knee) and Darrell Taylor (limited, knee).
3. Wednesday marked the end of the Nate Davis era in Chicago.
After reporting back tightness early Sunday morning, Davis was sent home and ruled out for the game against the Patriots. On Wednesday morning, he was cut.
“We just felt it was best for him and for the organization and for the team right now to do that,” Eberflus said.
Davis signed a three-year, $30 million free agency deal with the Bears in March 2023 but had availability issues with the team from the beginning. Over the season-and-a-half that he was with the Bears, Davis missed seven contests due to injury or personal reasons, was a healthy scratch for two other games and didn’t see the field in the Bears’ loss to the Arizona Cardinals two weeks ago.
Davis made only 13 starts while logging 808 snaps total for the Bears. His frequent inability to practice consistently was also an issue. Ultimately, the Bears decided this week they had had enough, cutting their losses and lamenting the poor return on investment they got after signing Davis.
