Bears training camp update: Sean Desai brings ‘the juice’ to practice; Nick Foles trade talk?

LAKE FOREST – First-year Bears defensive coordinator Sean Desai brings “the juice.”

The 38-year-old coach apparently wears a lot of hats. For a rookie NFL coordinator who never played above the high school level himself, and who others have referred to as “the professor” – because he is a smart dude and, well, because he’s actually a professor – it might come as a surprise to outsiders that he is earning the respect of the players for his feisty demeanor on the practice field.

[ What’s it like to learn from new Bears defensive coordinator Sean Desai? Just ask his students ]

“He brings the juice,” defensive tackle Bilal Nichols said. “Coach Sean has been amazing so far. Every day it’s energy. Every day it’s excitement.”

When Desai hits the practice field, he flips a switch, Nichols said. Even in meetings, Desai brings an enthusiasm to his work.

It was apparent Saturday during training camp at Halas Hall in Lake Forest. The Bears defense has been employing an empty blue ball bucket as the “takeaway bucket.” After the defense creates a turnover, the player who caught the interception or recovered the fumble will slam dunk the football into the bucket. There’s plenty of hooting and hollering in the process.

On Saturday, when rookie cornerback Thomas Graham Jr. came up with the first takeaway of the day, Desai himself ran across the length of the sideline to grab the bucket and drag it out to Graham at midfield.

“He’s usually the first one to go out there [with the bucket],” Graham said. “He’s coming, and he said he’s going to match our energy. Having a coach that’s energetic, just for us when we make a play, is even better because it makes you want to keep making plays.”

Desai is proving to be comfortable in his own skin, even around his hulking defensive linemen and linebackers. That confidence and enthusiasm translates onto the field.

“I just try to take a deep breath every time I walk out on that field and appreciate the opportunity that I’ve got in front of me,” Desai said.

Even with no hitting in practice right now, the defense is yelling, “Boom,” in the offensive players’ faces every time there would’ve been a big hit in a game setting.

Bears head coach Matt Nagy loves that energy from his defense. The bucket was Desai’s idea, Nagy said. Desai ran it by him to make sure it was OK with Nagy and the offense. It has to be demoralizing for the offense to hear the defense yelling up a storm as the ball is slammed into the takeaway bucket.

“You could feel it, the vibe in practice, that they’re going after that football,” Nagy said. “They’re trying to punch for it. I want that to happen. It’s the quarterback’s job, it’s our wide receiver’s job to make sure it doesn’t.”

Nick Foles trade talk: With Colts quarterback Carson Wentz going down with a foot injury, which may keep him out for several weeks, it’s natural that Nick Foles’ name might come up in trade discussions.

The Bears have a former Super Bowl MVP playing with their third-team offense. Such talk might become a common theme as the season goes on anytime a team needs a quarterback.

Nagy understands why. Foles is an accomplished quarterback who probably deserves better than a spot on the third-team offense. With Andy Dalton and Justin Fields entering the mix, Foles drew the short straw on the QB depth chart. A less-than-stellar 2020 season helped put him in this position.

Nagy said Foles handled that news like a pro this spring.

“He accepted it. He understood it,” Nagy said. “Was he happy about it? No, but he understood it.”

It’s unclear what the Colts are going to do with their quarterback situation. Backup quarterback Jacob Eason took reps with the first team offense Friday. The Colts are hoping Wentz can avoid surgery on his foot and that he’ll be back before Week 1, but that appears uncertain.

The Bears like having two veterans for the rookie Fields to learn from. But the more quarterbacks who go down with injuries during camp and in the regular season, the more teams are going to be looking for a veteran with experience.

Foles potentially could provide that.

“You’re talking about a Super Bowl MVP and a guy that’s started a lot of games,” Nagy said. “He’s had a really interesting career in so many ways that I just think he deserves that.”

Injury report: Bears offensive tackle Teven Jenkins sat out practice again because of back tightness. Jenkins has not practiced at all during the first week of training camp. The rookie second-round draft pick is the presumed starting left tackle in Nagy’s offense.