Kevin White Injury Opens Door for Chicago Bears’ Other Young Wide Receivers
Published by Matt Eurich on August 19, 2015
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears
When the Chicago Bears drafted West Virginia’s Kevin White with the seventh overall pick this past April, general manager Ryan Pace was excited about his new wide receiver.
“We couldn’t be more thrilled right now,” Pace said after the draft, per Larry Mayer of ChicagoBears.com. “This guy’s dynamic, he’s big, he’s strong and he’s ultra-competitive. If I could stress one word for this player, he’s competitive. You see it after the catch. You see it in the way he attacks the ball in the air. This is a dynamic playmaker for our offense.”
White was expected to pair up with fourth-year man Alshon Jeffery on the outside in Chicago’s new offense this season, but a shin injury will force him to miss at least the first six games of the year.
In addition to White missing the games, Jeffery is also expected to miss some time in the preseason due to a calf injury, according to Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune:
Jeffery was seen wearing a protective boot and using crutches after Chicago’s first preseason game against the Miami Dolphins last week, per the Chicago Sun-Times‘ Adam Jahns, but the former Pro Bowl receiver appeared to be in better health over the weekend:
Barring any setbacks, Jeffery should be back in time for the regular-season opener against the Green Bay Packers, and veteran Eddie Royal and third-year man Marquess Wilson are expected to take over White’s role in the offense for at least those first six games.
Head coach John Fox believes White’s absence will give a couple of Chicago’s young receivers an opportunity to prove themselves in the coming weeks, according to ESPN.com’s Jeff Dickerson:
It gives other guys opportunities. We’ll have a next-man up approach whether it’s here, in the season, or in the postseason. You keep 53 men on the roster and you keep them for a reason, because you think they can play. It’s an opportunity for guys to step up. We’ll always look to improve our roster. That will not change. We’ll see who steps up.
The Bears currently have nine receivers on the roster competing for two to three roster spots behind Jeffery, Royal and Wilson.
Of those nine receivers, veteran Marc Mariani is the only one on the list who has caught a pass in an NFL game. Used primarily as a kick returner during his time with the Tennessee Titans, Mariani caught five passes in 2011 for 24 yards.
He signed with the Bears last November and handled kickoff duties for the final six games of the year. In White and Jeffery’s absence, Mariani lined up with the first-team offense against Miami last week.
He has the speed to play out of the slot, but if he makes the team this season, he will be used primarily as a return man.
After the first-team offense left the field in the second quarter against Miami, many of Chicago’s young receivers got an opportunity to get extensive reps in the final two-and-a-half quarters.
According to Pro Football Focus, rookie receiver A.J. Cruz played the most snaps on offense with 42, followed by Rashad Lawrence’s 40, Joshua Bellamy’s 34 and Cameron Meredith’s 33. Levi Norwood, John Chiles and Ify Umodu all played fewer than 10 snaps.
Meredith stole the show on offense for the Bears against Miami, recording four catches for 47 yards on six targets.
“It was a lot of fun, especially getting out there in front of all the Chicago fans,” he said after the game, per ChicagoFootball.com’s Nate Atkins. “Once I get into my own, make some catches and get into the flow, I start to really enjoy myself.”
The Illinois State product began his collegiate career as a quarterback before making the move to wide receiver in 2013 for the Redbirds. According to GoRedBirds.com, Meredith hauled in 66 passes for 1,061 yards with nine touchdowns last season.
The young receiver did a nice job of finding the open areas against the Dolphins, but he will need to continue to show improvement in practice to get more reps with the second-team offense. He is still very raw, but his size (6’3″, 200 lbs) is what quarterback Jay Cutler covets in the passing game.
Meredith is not expected to beat out Royal or Wilson for snaps with the first team, but he could solidify a spot on the 53-man roster with strong performances in the final three games of the preseason.
Lawrence was Chicago’s second-leading receiver against Miami, finishing the contest with three catches for 25 yards on seven targets. He did a nice job of creating separation on a 12-yard throw from quarterback Jimmy Clausen, and he looked comfortable in offensive coordinator Adam Gase’s offense all night long.
A four-year contributor at Northwestern from 2010 to 2013, Lawrence caught 96 passes for 1,165 yards and scored two touchdowns. He went undrafted in 2014 and signed with the Washington Redskins as a free agent. He was cut at the end of training camp but signed with the Bears last November.
Prior to the 2014 draft, NFL.com’s Nolan Nawrocki viewed Lawrence as a dependable receiver.
“A dependable inside, possession receiver with the size, toughness and hands to fend for a roster spot,” wrote Nawrocki. “Lack of special-teams experience could be restricting.”
Lawrence is a strong receiver who has good hands, but he needs to work on his route running in the coming weeks. If he can prove himself on special teams, he has a chance to stick on the roster because of his toughness.
The Bears signed Cruz just before the start of training camp, and the former Brown University standout registered one catch for 15 yards against Miami last week. He spent the last two seasons in the Arena Football League and was a standout return man. He also played defensive back, linebacker and wide receiver during his time in the AFL.
He is viewed primarily as a punt returner because of his size (5’9″, 195 lbs), but he could be used in various sub-packages this year on offense because of his speed.
Bellamy caught three passes for 15 yards in the preseason opener, and the former Louisville standout is looking to earn a roster spot this season. He went undrafted in 2013 and spent time with the Kansas City Chiefs, San Diego Chargers and Redskins before being acquired off waivers by the Bears in April 2014.
He spent all of training camp with the team last summer before being a part of Chicago’s final roster cuts. Bellamy spent the majority of last season on Chicago’s practice squad, but he appeared in four games. According to Pro Football Focus, he played a total of 11 snaps on offense in 2015.
Bellamy knows this offseason may be his last chance to stick on a roster.
“It’s now or never for me right now,” Bellamy said, according to the Chicago Tribune‘s Dan Wiederer. “So every play I’m going my hardest.”
Bellamy has shown a willingness to compete on special teams, and with White out for the foreseeable future, he could land on the final 53-man roster because of his familiarity with both Cutler and Clausen.
Guys like Chiles, Norwood and Umodu played sparingly against Miami last week, and it is going to be an uphill battle for them to claim a roster spot. Norwood could earn a role as a return man, but Mariani appears to have that position locked up.
White’s injury is disappointing for many reasons, but the NFL is all about the “next man up” mentality. Meredith, Lawrence, Cruz and Bellamy do not possess the same talent as this year’s seventh overall pick, but they will have an opportunity in the final three preseason games to solidify a spot on Chicago’s 53-man roster.
Statistical information courtesy of NFL.com and Sports-Reference.com unless otherwise noted. Measurables courtesy of ChicagoBears.com.
Matt Eurich is a Chicago Bears featured columnist for Bleacher Report and a member of the Pro Football Writers of America.
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