Breaking down the Bears’ Monday practice:
Monangai back, Odunze still out
Three weeks and one day after he hurt his knee when he got tangled with defensive tackle Grady Jarrett during an unpadded drill, running back Kyle Monangai returned to practice. He worked during the Bears’ brief 40-minute practice at Halas Hall. Monangai had 783 rushing yards on 169 carries as a rookie.
Running back D’Andre Swift, who left practice Thursday with a cramp, practiced. So did every single Bears player but receiver Rome Odunze, who left practice Thursday after appearing to injure the same right foot that hampered him last year. A source said last week that preliminary indications were that the injury wasn’t considered serious. Odunze, who described keeping tabs on his foot his “new normal” hadn’t missed a significant snap all training camp until Thursday.
The Bears don’t have to submit an injury report until Wednesday.
Game week
It didn’t rookie hit Dillon Thieneman until he got the weekend off — he was about to play his first NFL game. The first-round safety had spent most of training camp trying to get through practice — and then the three-game preseason schedule.
“[Sunday] night I was watching film, prepping for the game,” he said. “It’s kind of like, ‘Geez, I’m really where I wanted to be being that little kid.’”
What’s next
The Bears will practice Tuesday at Halas Hall as they continue preparations for the season opener against the Panthers.