Bears change practice schedule due to positive COVID test

[Staley Da Bear]

The support the Bears offer to a player who tests positive for COVID involves both the physical and mental aspects of the situation.


"No. 1, we communicate with them and just make sure that, symptom-wise, they're okay, and then whatever we gotta do to help with that," Nagy said. "Then the emotional side is a big part of it as well because like 'BT' was saying, you feel bad because you don't know when or how you got it. That's unknown."


With COVID-related changes seemingly transpiring on a daily basis, Nagy has focused on keeping in constant communication with players and coaches.


"[At] the very beginning of the start of the season and really going back to the offseason, we said, 'Listen, every day is going to be different,'" Nagy said. "And then how do we respond to that? So our communication here has been really, really good from [the] top down. We have an app we use for our team. We have a communication process to let everybody know what's going on. Last night we had a big Zoom meeting just to let everybody know, 'OK, here's what we've got moving forward, here's the change we're making, are there any questions or concerns?'


"We got everybody on that call and we just talked through it, so I think that part is comforting to the players. They came out here today and had a great walk-through. And now we get them out of the building—they're not sitting around the locker room, they're not in the weight rooms, they're out of here, and now we're going to have some Zoom meetings later on."


The Bears aren't the only team that has had to adjust and adapt on the fly. On Sunday, the league reshuffled its schedule, moving eight games in the coming weeks.


"It puts a lot of teams at a lot of disadvantages," Robinson said. "But going into this season, just like coach [Nagy] said … you really have got to expect the unexpected at all times. That's the kind of season that this was going to be. Going in, we've kind of known that. So you have to just adjust as best as you can. There's going to be some tough situations, but you've got to just continue to try to adjust and push through it."


Two weeks ago, the Steelers didn't find out until Thursday that their Sunday game against the Titans was being postponed after a Tennessee player and staff member had tested positive for COVID.


"Guys were in the facility practicing all week," Robinson said, "guys were going through their normal weekly protocols and preparing for a game, and then it's like, 'OK, this is your bye week.' But at the same time, you still had practices, you haven't had any added rest or anything like that. It's tough. I'd definitely imagine that it's very, very frustrating as well. But at the same time, this is one of those years where there are a lot of things around the league that players and teams can't control. You've got to try to go with the flow and make the best of it."