Chicago Bears: 5 Broncos They Must Watch at Joint Practices
By Erik Lambert
The Chicago Bears will travel to Denver early this week. Why? They plan to conduct joint practices with the Broncos before their preseason matchup Saturday.
It’s actually a rather common NFL policy that teams choose to implement. Two years ago the Bears did the same with the New England Patriots. Now, of course, there can be some drawbacks to this approach. Anybody who saw the raging fight that broke out between the Jets and Redskins can attest to that, but there’s also plenty of benefits too.
It is an opportunity for Bears players to practice against somebody different. Not just different players but also different coaches with different schemes. That experience could be a valuable way to sharpen their senses for the regular season to come. However, there is also one major upside. It offers the team an up-close view of the Broncos roster and any potential players they might cut loose in a few weeks.
Players the Bears might be interested in adding to their roster. Here are five names they should be watching carefully.
DeAngelo Henderson (RB)
The short but athletic and ferocious running back might be called the Tarik Cohen of Denver given his skill set. However, his status with the Broncos is very much up in the air. His team just got done drafting two running backs this year including Royce Freeman (3rd round) and David Williams (7th round). While the Broncos did carry four running backs last year, the competition is a lot thicker this time.
The possibility is there they might decide to cut Henderson loose and the Bears should absolutely be interested. The only thing better than having a back with versatility like Cohen is having two such backs. He’d be a terrific fit in that Matt Nagy-Mark Helfrich hybrid system and provide quality depth to what is already a loaded position.