Now fast forward to the beginning of the second week of camp Thursday and Fox and Pace saying on AM-670 the Score they hope to have White practicing next week while at the same time Ian Rappaport is reporting on NFL.com that, according to a source, White still could be on the PUP list to begin the regular season. He hasn’t done any work on hard ground yet, instead doing work in the pool.
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Rapoport added to his own report shortly thereafter, suggesting that White is champing at the bit to get started but that the team is being cautious right now.
With Cutler and the Bears looking to improve on a 2014 that saw the dour signal-caller finish with just 3,812 yards, 28 touchdowns, 18 interceptions and nine fumbles and the team end up 21st in the league in total offense despite their plethora of offensive talent, White’s contributions to the Chicago cause is sorely needed. So there’s a plan in place to kind of bring him back at the right pace. “You see him out here”.
Before we talk about why White won’t be that guy, let’s talk about how we got here.
Asked if there’s fear that this is a chronic problem for White, Pace responded, “Once we get it under control, we should be good”.
When Bears coach John Fox spoke to the media on Wednesday, he downplayed concern for the severity of White’s injury.
“Whether or not he’ll fall behind, I can’t say”, Fox said. “I don’t think he probably had more than five or six routes that he really had to worry about”.
As the smart guys at Rotoworld have noted at several points in the offseason, Fox is known for taking it slowly with rookies, and we saw an example (note: this is a very loose comparison due to their completely different situations) of this last year with Indiana product Cody Latimer. That performance-combined with an awe-inspiring show at the NFL Combine-made him the 7th overall pick. When camp opened, Cutler said communication is the key to getting White going. “He hasn’t done anything in seven weeks”.
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The Bears selected White seventh overall in May’s draft, expecting him to make an immediate impact on offence.
