After shuffling players in and out of the lineup, the Bears offensive line is finally beginning to develop some stability at a very opportune time.
The tide began to turn Aug. 28 when left tackle Jason Peters began his first full week of workouts, right tackle Germain Ifedi practiced for the first time in training camp and right guard James Daniels continued to ramp up after missing the first two preseason games.
Since then, the entire starting unit has worked together—with Peters, Ifedi and Daniels joining left guard Cody Whitehair and center Sam Mustipher.
"Continuity is big on the offensive line, but we know injuries and stuff like that happens, too," Whitehair said. "Especially with the pandemic and stuff, you just have to expect the unexpected. The last two weeks have been good. We have gotten some good work and we feel good where we are at."
The cohesiveness the line is building should help Sunday night when the Bears open the regular season in Los Angeles against the Rams, whose defense was ranked No. 1 in the NFL last year.
One constant throughout the spring and summer has been Mustipher, who's responsible for making the line calls.
"It's nice when you have a center in there like Sam has been because he kind of tells us where to go initially," Whitehair said. "That's been nice to have him and his voice there the whole time in training camp. But it's a next-man-up kind of business and job. The guys that have stepped into those roles have done a good job. But like I said, it's been nice to have the starters in there the last two weeks, and we have grown together in the last two weeks really well."
Injury update: Nose tackle Eddie Goldman did not practice Wednesday due to knee and ankle injuries. Tight end Jimmy Graham was given a veteran day off.
Players who were limited included outside linebackers Khalil Mack (groin) and Robert Quinn (back), inside linebacker Joel Iyiegbuniwe (shoulder) and receiver Darnell Mooney (back).
Numbers game: Linebacker Danny Trevathan will sport a new look when he returns from injured reserve. Taking advantage of a new rule this year that expands the range of numbers certain position groups can wear, Trevathan is switching from No. 59 to No. 6.
Trevathan has worn No. 59 in all nine of his NFL seasons up to this point with the Broncos (2012-15) and Bears (2016-20). He's switching to No. 6 because it's the first number he wore in Pee-Wee football.
Trevathan becomes the second Bears defender to switch to a single digit, joining safety Eddie Jackson, who went from No. 39 to No. 4, the number he wore at Alabama. Since Don Kindt donned No. 6 with the Bears from 1947-56, it has only been worn by four Chicago players: kickers Hans Nielsen (1981) and Kevin Butler (1985-95) and quarterbacks Jay Cutler (2009-16) and Mark Sanchez (2017).
Senior writer Larry Mayer ranks his 10 favorite Bears players who changed jersey numbers prior to the 2021 season.
(10) Sam Acho (No. 49 to 93)
The outside linebacker wore No. 49 in his first two seasons with the Bears in 2015-16 before changing to No. 93 in his final two years in 2017-18. Acho made the switch because he liked the number "3" following the release of defensive lineman Will Sutton, who had been wearing No. 93.
(9) Jim Flanigan (No. 68 to 99)
After wearing No. 68 as a Bears rookie in 1994, the defensive tackle from Notre Dame wore No. 99 for his final six seasons with the team.
(8) Emery Moorehead (No. 43 to 87)
After wearing No. 43 in his first season with the Bears in 1981, the veteran tight end switched to No. 87 for his final seven years with the team.
(7) Rashied Davis (No. 21 to 81)
Before joining the Bears in 2005, Davis had played receiver and cornerback in the Arena Football League with the San Jose SaberCats. Signed by the Bears to play cornerback, Davis was assigned No. 21. But when he was switched to receiver in his second season, he changed to No. 81.
(6) Earl Bennett (No. 85 to 80)
The Bears receiver wore No. 85 as a rookie in 2008 before switching to No. 80 for his final five seasons with the team. Bennett did not catch a pass as a rookie before registering 185 receptions the next five years.
(5) Josh McCown (No. 15 to 12)
The popular quarterback had worn No. 12 in each of his first eight NFL seasons with the Cardinals (2002-05), Lions (2006), Raiders (2007) and Panthers (2008-09). But when he signed with the Bears in 2011, Caleb Hanie had No. 12, so McCown took No. 15. McCown's contract expired after the season and the Bears acquired receiver Brandon Marshall in a trade with the Dolphins and gave him No. 15. McCown re-signed with the Bears one day later and was given No. 12.
(4) Mike Ditka (No. 82 to 89)
After Mike Ditka was selected by the Bears with the fifth pick in the 1961 draft, the Hall of Fame tight end was assigned No. 82. The No. 89 that Ditka had worn at the University of Pittsburgh belonged to Bears kicker John Aveni. But Aveni was released before training camp and Ditka was able to get No. 89—a number that has since been retired by the team in his honor.
(3) Lance Briggs (No. 91 to 55)
When Briggs was chosen by the Bears in the third round of the 2003 draft, the No. 55 belonged to veteran linebacker Mike Caldwell. But Caldwell was released before the start of the season and Briggs switched to No. 55.
(2) Doug Plank (No. 25 to 46)
The hard-hitting safety was originally given No. 25 after arriving as a 12th-round pick in the 1975 draft. But the Bears traded for Steelers receiver Ron Shanklin in late August and Shanklin asked for No. 25—the number he had worn for five seasons in Pittsburgh. Plank acquiesced and switched to No. 46. Had that not happened, we'd probably all be talking about the famed 25 defense!
(1) Walter Payton (No. 21 to 34)
The legendary Hall of Fame running back was initially assigned No. 21 when he arrived as the fourth overall pick in the 1975 draft, but he switched to his famed No. 34 before the start of the regular season.
Roster moves: The Bears on Wednesday made a handful of changes to their practice squad, signing defensive tackle Margus Hunt and nose tackle Damion Square and releasing running back Artavis Pierce and defensive tackle Auzoyah Alufohai.
Born in Estonia, Hunt has appeared in 104 NFL games with 26 starts in nine seasons with the Bengals (2013-16 and 2020), Colts (2017-19) and Saints (2020), registering 114 tackles, 26 tackles-for-loss and 8.5 sacks. The 6-8, 295-pounder was selected by Cincinnati in the second round of the 2013 draft out of SMU.
Square has played in 91 NFL games with 24 starts in seven seasons with the Eagles (2013), Chiefs (2014) and Chargers (2014-20), recording 120 tackles, 11 tackles-for-loss and 6.5 sacks. He also spent time with the Browns and Saints this summer. The 6-2, 293-pounder entered the NFL with Philadelphia in 2013 as an undrafted free agent from Alabama.
