Chicago Bears: Notes and Quotes from 1st Week of Training Camp
Published by Matt Eurich on July 31, 2015
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears reported to training camp in Bourbonnais, Illinois, on Wednesday afternoon, and the team held its first practice Thursday morning.
Even though the Bears officially reported on Wednesday, a few players arrived early on Tuesday.
“I got here [Tuesday] night,” said guard Kyle Long, per Larry Mayer of ChicagoBears.com. “A few of us caravanned down here, just waiting on guys. It’s great to see everybody. It’s like the first day of school. I was in the training room at 8 a.m. and I didn’t have to be there until noon. I was just messing with everybody. It was a lot of fun.”
Long’s fun-loving attitude is a welcomed addition this offseason following the team’s disappointing 5-11 2014 campaign. The Bears fired general manager Phil Emery and head coach Marc Trestman after the season, and they hired Ryan Pace as their new GM and John Fox as their new head coach.
The Bears have added over 40 new players to the roster since the end of the 2014 season, and Fox said it will be all about competition in training camp.
“When we pick the 53(-man roster), one of the things I tell the football team is, ‘Congratulations. Some of you lost friends. It can be a cruel business,'” Fox said, per David Haugh of the Chicago Tribune. “It’s competitive all the time and it will be throughout this camp.”
The Bears will hold their first padded practice of training camp on August 1, and in the coming weeks, they will have to trim their roster down from 90 players to 53 players before the regular season begins.
Just ahead, we take a look at some of the latest notes and quotes from the start of Chicago’s training camp.
