Jaylon Johnson, Nate Davis among no shows at OTAs

The Chicago Bears have officially concluded two days of OTAs at Halas Hall this week. What’s more interesting about the Tuesday variety compared to day one is that media was allowed in the building, and thus, we have a lot more information than we had yesterday (which was none).

The first thing to look for at OTAs is attendance. OTAs are, of course, voluntary for players to attend. Due to the CBA with the union, teams cannot make offseason workouts mandatory, except for the one minicamp in June. So while OTAs are voluntary, in most cases, attendance is expected. Four notable Bears were not there today.

In addition to the three that Courtney mentioned, Darnell Mooney was also not in attendance. Jackson and Mooney missing OTAs aren’t too concerning. They are both veterans coming off season-ending injuries. Johnson and Davis missing are more interesting.

With Johnson, you have to wonder if this has to do with his contract situation. Johnson wants to be extended and this may be a negotiating tactic. Especially when you hear how Matt Eberflus talked about his absence.

There’s plenty of ways to handle this as head coach. This feels a little abrupt from Flus. We will see if more comes out in the coming days about his attendance.

Davis is interesting because he just signed with the team and the Bears invested $30 million in him. Traditionally, players that are with new teams show up at OTAs to get an early jump on getting to know the playbook and coaching staff. Davis has chosen not to show up to this particular stretch of OTAs, we will see if he shows later.

Eberflus went on to say that the coaches will “coach the players that are here.” But did not give any reasons as to why any of these particular veterans were not present today.