The Bears closed Halas Hall and paused all in-person football activities Thursday morning after learning that one of their players tested positive for COVID-19.
After conducting video meetings during the day, the team entered the evening in a holding pattern, waiting for the NFL to confirm the positive test and complete the contact tracing process.
"I hate to put a timeline on it because I don't know that answer, but we're hoping sometime tonight we'll have more clarity as to some more details of where we're at with our team and our players," coach Matt Nagy told reporters late Thursday afternoon. "Once we know that, then we can go ahead and decide as far as tomorrow, what's our plan for meetings? What's our plan for practice? And I'm sure the league will inform us as to what they recommend when we're at this step."
At this point, it's unclear if or how the positive COVID-19 test will affect Sunday's game between the Bears and Titans in Tennessee. The Bears, of course, hope to practice Friday, but they must first receive more information from the NFL.
"Don't know that yet," Nagy said. "We're hoping that we can. I'll be waiting for a phone call, hopefully later on this evening, and our players know to stay around in regards to looking on their phones for a possibility of a meeting to let them know. As of right now, we'll contact them tonight to let them know what the schedule is tomorrow. Again, we're just waiting for answers. That's all we can really do."
On Tuesday, the Bears placed offensive linemen Germain Ifedi and Jason Spriggs on the reserve/COVID-19 list and put right tackle Bobby Massie on injured reserve, where he joined left guard James Daniels and running back Tarik Cohen. If the Bears actually had practiced Thursday, six players would have been unable to participate and three would have been limited. In 2020, the mantra is clearly not only "next-man-up" but "all-hands-on-deck."
"We told the younger guys, some of the practice squad guys, we've been telling them all year long, this is one of those years you better be ready," Nagy said. "You better know your plays and you better be ready to step up because you're going to get an opportunity."
Nagy declined to reveal how many players and coaches could be close contacts to the player who tested positive, but the coach said that he's not one of them.
The Bears closed Halas Hall Thursday morning immediately after finding out about the positive test. Defensive coordinator Chuck Pagano was in the middle of a Zoom interview with reporters when he informed them he had to abruptly end the call.
"There's a process to it and that's kind of where [the NFL is] at right now," Nagy said. "We just wanted to let them do that, and while they're doing that, we wanted to make sure that, 'hey, with that being done, let's go ahead and let's just right now get everybody home, make sure everybody's good, get a deep cleanse of the building, and be able to just continue with where we're at until we get more answers as to where we stand and then we can hopefully get answers tonight and know what's going to happen tomorrow.'"
Nagy lauded how the Bears have handled COVID-19-related issues, an effort that's spearheaded by head athletic trainer Andre Tucker, who has doubled as the organization's infection control officer. It's a position the NFL mandated each franchise to create to coordinate all coronavirus issues.
In his role as the Bears' ICO, Tucker is responsible for the COVID-19 screening protocol, ensuring that the cleaning and disinfection program at Halas Hall meets CDC and ICS guidelines and that there's signage throughout the building regarding health policies and COVID-19 best practices, such as stopping the spread of germs and guidance for those who experience virus-like symptoms.
"Andre Tucker has done an amazing job with this process," Nagy said. "I think he needs to be noticed with how well he's handling this. It can be stressful, but he's doing everything he can to make this not stressful for all of us."
Since the start of the pandemic, Nagy has repeatedly stressed the importance of constant communication throughout the organization.
"That word 'trust' is huge right now, I really believe that," Nagy said. "When you get news like this, whether it's the middle of the night or whether it's early in the morning or whenever in the day, instantly you have 150 people in our building that want to know a lot of answers.
"I think the biggest thing that everyone will learn in our organization is that we always put their health and safety first, always. We have a well-thought-out plan. The best part about our crew, and just working with Ryan [Pace] and Andre—and Andre's doing so much each and every day—is just staying calm. Just not panicking, not getting beat down with all the stuff, all the phone calls and questioning and this and that. You just stay calm and you work through it and you stay positive. That's what we've done."
