Pro bowl edge rusher was one of a number of absences from the Bears final day of offseason OTA’s
LAKE FOREST, Ill. — A noted absence from Chicago Bears offseason OTA’s, at least during sessions available to the media, was pro bowl defensive end Montez Sweat.
Head Coach Matt Eberflus cleared some of the air around his top edge rusher Friday.
“I’m not going to get into all the numbers, in terms of like the exact dates and when guys were here, but he’s been in the building,” Eberflus said of Sweat. “He’s been here a few, several times during the offseason and when he’s in, he’s locked in and ready to go.
“And of course, he’ll be here next week and we’re excited about that.”
Eberflus went on to say Sweat has not been around the team “for the last couple weeks,” but the key for him going into next season will be to perfect a consistent burst off the line, and like everyone else on Chicago’s roster this offseason, establish a good base of conditioning leading into the warmest months of the year.
“His whole thing is about having a consistent get-off and then getting that base for the offseason leading into summer,” Eberflus said. “That’s really for everybody. We’re talking about that daily—about guys getting a good base going into summer conditioning because they’ll have about 42 days before they come back. And that’s going to be important for him.”
According to The Athletic’s Kevin Fishbain, Nate Davis and Rome Odunze were present Friday, but Keenan Allen, Jaylon Johnson, Kyler Gordon, Jaquan Brisker and Kevin Byard were also absent from the Bears’ last OTA session.
When asked if young guys, like rookie fifth round pick Austin Booker, were getting extra reps with the absence of established veterans like Sweat, Eberflus said they were, but there’s only so much that can be evaluated at this point in time.
“Yeah, I think [DeMarcus] Walker was ill the last couple days so, he was sitting out today,” Eberflus said. “I think the young guys do get a lot more reps in there. But again, we got to wait until the pads come on. We got to see that to really evaluate that. You have to wait for the pads.”
And when pads come on, Eberflus said that he expects Sweat, and the roster to be in full attendance once mandatory minicamp begins on Tuesday, June 4.