By Steve Soucie/The Daily Journal
Chicago Bears first-round draft choice Chris Williams won’t be at the left tackle poition he was expected to handle when the National Football League season kicks off in the first week of September.
And in a best case scenario, the Bears still won’t see him at the position no earlier than Week 10. Williams’ recent surgery for a herniated disk will sideline him for at least 10-12 weeks and possibly the entire season. The Bears, however, do not currently plan to place him on the injured reserve list. If Williams was placed on that list, he would not be eligible to suit up this season.
With that knowledge in place, most of the discussion on the 19th day of Chicago Bears Training Camp at Olivet Nazarene University centered around what’s next for the transitioning offensive line.
And while no one in camp is acting as if the sky is falling, not being able to fill the critical left tackle position with the player the Bears had hoped to is causing a sweeping effect to the line.
The left tackle position is considered the most critical on the line as he is responsible for protecting the quarterback’s blind side from the outside pass rush.
As of now, John St. Clair resides in the No. 1 spot on the team’s depth chart at left tackle and Smith is advocating for him to stay there for the time being. And when asked point blank as to who the team’s best available left tackle was, Smith was pointed in his response.
“John St. Clair is in the starting position, so I guess you could start with him,” Smith said.
John Tait has the most experience at the position but his conversion from the left to the right tackle position has gone smoothly thus far and the Bears aren’t going to make any more changes than they have to at this point.
Younger players also seem to be responding to the extra opportunities provided by the injuries to both Williams and veteran guard Terrence Metcalf so much so that Smith singled out the unit for its solid play in the preseason opener against the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday.
“I was pleased with how our offensive line blocked and how we ran the football,” Bears head coach Lovie Smith said.
But just because those players seem to be stepping up that doesn’t mean that the Bears won’t possibly try to bring another player into the mix. The more notable names that continue to swirl in the rumor mill are tackle Fred Miller and guard Ruben Brown, both players that were with the Bears last season.
“We’ll always keep all of our options open,” Smith said. “But that’s the offensive line you saw out there today, and that’s where we like it right now.”
Clean bill of health
The remaining two players on the injury list were removed for the first time on Saturday as both running back Kevin Jones and defensive tackle Dusty Dvoracek participated in practices.
Jones still isn’t participating in full contact drills, but was obviously enthusiastic about getting a chance to hit the field.
“I feel great. I’m just happy to get out here,” Jones said. “They are just working me in, I guess to see what I can handle.”
Dvoracek, who should immediately work his way into the defensive tackle rotation once he feels comfortable cutting it loose, had to be cautioned not to push it too hard in his first day back.
“I have to take it a day a time, but it felt really good,” Dvoracek said. “I’m a high-motor guy, so I have to be constantly reminded just to take it slow. For the first day it was good and I’m sure tomorrow it will get better.”
