Patrick Finley at the Chicago Sun-Times quotes head coach John Fox after the news broke that Marquess Wilson broke his foot.
“‘I don’t know that you’re ever comfortable with depth,’ Fox said. ‘We’re kinda where we are right now. We’re always looking to improve. I think you have to be fortunate and stay healthy, and then you don’t have to have all that depth.”
Yeah, well, good luck with that.
The truth is that more often than not injuries are going to hit you as an NFL team. If you are going to compete consistently year in and year out, you need to have depth and overcome them. And depth is a major concern for the Bears.
In addition to the wide receiver situation, the Bears still don’t have a swing tackle and, with the retirement of Manny Ramirez and with Ted Larsen not present for minicamp, depth on the interior offensive line is now a concern. The Bears are also razor thin in the defensive backfield where arguably even the starters aren’t up to snuff. The depth at inside linebacker behind Jerrell Freeman and Danny Trevathon is also suspect.
The Bears are likely to be a popular pick amongst those pundits who are looking for a team to come out of nowhere to compete for a playoff spot. They have the second weakest schedule in the league, have strengthened their starting front seven and they have Kevin White back.
But don’t be fooled.
Sure, they could get lucky and remain exceptionally healthy for one year. But despite his statement, Fox surely knows full well that no one should expect that.
The truth is that the Bears still don’t have the talent to consistently compete and, even if a reasonable number of the players taken in 2016 pan out, they are still one or two good drafts away from being so.