Are the Bears close to getting Kyler Gordon back?

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2:04Speegle and home show flashback. I would be willing to bet, and I don't know this first fact. But I do know this. I'll say this on the record. It's not the Chicago Bears, guys. And it's not anything they're doing scheme wise. You can be a hero if you're the Nickelback and Dennis Allen scheme. This is a Nickelback friendly scheme. So it's not the bears, it's not the coaches. I think the guys, let's assume that he's hurt. And if he's not hurt, maybe in his heart, he's just... Let me look what happened to our center last year. Right, I wasn't the bearer. It wasn't the scheme. Our center last year just had enough help me out. I'm trying to think of his name. Dominic Drew Dominic. Yeah, yeah. Dominic just decides he had enough. And I'm not so sure that in the end of the day, Gordon's not going to sign with another team. You know, it's not the bearer, it's not the scheme.

3:04All that stuff, it's not the city of Chicago. All that, it couldn't be any better. Couldn't be any better for football player in this time. That is Dave Wands that talking about the situation with Kyler Gordon. We're looking forward to our weekly conversations with Dave Wands that we're going to debut our whole thing tomorrow. Like our whole bear schedule and it's going to be very exciting. Breaking news on the score. Wait, we do have the I dot sponsor. That's right, we brought you by I dot. At some point in the day, everyone is a pedestrian. Slow down, give them space, share the road. It's not a game. According to Andy Reed, it's most likely that Patrick Mahomes is going to start Monday night. Wow. Seven months after having ACL surgery, I think they once they trade it just in fields. You were like, oh, yeah, they don't need him to start game one because Patrick's going to be ready. I mean, Patrick, wow, that is that is quite the comeback.

4:04That is quite the accelerated timeline. You sure he doesn't want to take a couple of weeks away from the team and maybe go check it out with his own people and see what's possible there. You know what's I mean, because everybody's doing that and he could tell Ian Rapp report about it. So look, Patrick does have his own people. If you watch the quarterback series, like he's got his own thing, but it's an important distinction. I'm glad you're making it. I'm making a flipping joke, but let's discuss this for real. But here's the thing. The the assistant trainer, once your name is Tiffany Morton. He he loves her so much that he put her in the state farm commercials with him because she did such a good job with his last rehab that he had. That's the chief assistant. Yes. Okay. Well, but he but either way, people have their own guys. They have their own guys. They have their own people that they talk to their own docs. But most of those docs have really good working relationships with NFL teams too, because you want to be careful not to disrupt things. And you work those kind of things out.

5:05It's sort of like all the pitching coaches, it's drive line and such. Yeah, you can ruffle feathers. You can ruffle feathers sometimes when you go to your high school pitching coach to go work with him or when you go to drive line. But adults talk it through and work it out when everybody's got the best interest of the person in mind. Julie Frymeyer, that's who the assistant trainer was that work with Patrick and is in the state farm commercials. But yes, guys do this. Like guys have their people when I was covering the team, it was kind of a big deal that the massage therapist, you'd see them usually on Wednesday that they would be at the facility. Like the bears would literally bring the massage therapist there. You see them there with their tables and everything. And guys would have their time. Like, okay, but Erlac is going to be on the on the tables from four to five or whatever. And then guys are going to see accurate punctures and people who do cupping

6:10and all of the other stuff that they feel like helps get them ready. And then there's a whole another thing with their actual training staff, the people who take it seriously will hire a training staff because they can't be everywhere at once when all these guys are scattered. Like when you think about like where guys live in the off season, you probably have a team of PT or trainers or string trainers that you're working with. Sometimes those are the best possible people to work with you. And sometimes it can give you a false sense of security. At the end of it, you still, the job is for you to play. And there are legitimate questions that players have all the time, that they're going to be able to speak about, are they doing what's best for my body? Or am I a commodity? Like the way that you and I have been talking about this as it pertains to arms in baseball? I get it. And the truth is, you are a commodity. Newshoes, new clothes, brand new grade.

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8:16Together, we'll hydrate athletes from the first mile to the finish line with Alpine Springwater that's always bottled at the natural spring source. We're proud to partner with Iron Man and support a community defined by perseverance, determination and the pursuit of extraordinary goals. Crystal Geyser Alpine Springwater. Always bottled at the source. Sometimes you can have good working relationships, good personal relationships, honest and emotional connections with people. But in the end, yes, you are a commodity and you're incredibly well paid to be a commodity. And you are counted upon in a professional organization to try and play. And when you are healthy, to try and play. And is it ruthless? Yes, it is pro sports. And there's clearly a disconnect here between what Kyler Gordon thinks is ready to play and what the Bears think is ready to play.

9:21We saw it. It's the Rams game, right? It's the Rams playoff game. Where Kyler's on the active roster and working out before the game and then decides he can't go. And now we're what? Six months after that? We're six months after that. And this man is still not sure he can go. And the team is actively, openly, publicly throwing their hands in the air. And wait, Amy, like you just don't care. What's up? Ryan Poles is, I don't know. I wish I had more to tell you. Which I have more to tell you. I just don't know. Yeah, it's a weird place that everyone seems to be in and look. I'll make mention of this just because this is what we do and know that there is an inherent bias just because of this is what I do. I'd love it if this is one of those things where I feel like Kyler could use someone who is a professional storyteller to tell his story. Like this is a he's not telling a story.

10:23I know. Is it something that does the bear it to the bears? Can they preclude him from telling his story? No, he could go out and tell it. He could he could call us. He could sit down with Dan Pompey. You know what I mean? He could sit down with someone like Ian Rappaport. Maybe that's what's going to end up happening. Like that's the type of the way that they're learning the way that this seems to work. Is it sometimes, you know, you'll get an exclusive sit down in some of those instances? Yeah, because this report from Ian Rappaport sure reads like a guy who is helping the message get out there. This is he he tweets about Kyler Gordon getting some is away from the team working with his own trainer. Planets are going to return a few weeks into the season and begin practicing shortly thereafter. Some optimism here. This has been a challenging recovery. Sometimes players work best honing in with their own people. That seems to be the case here. Barring a setback Gordon should be back sooner rather than later. That paints this in an optimistic kind of normal sort of backdrop,

11:25which is not the way that it is felt. And I still don't feel that way after reading this. I don't feel optimistic or any sense of normalcy here that Ian Rappaport is trying to portray. Speaks, I'm there with you that this feels like a bit of a hail Mary on the part of Kyler. I don't feel like if he's if what he wants is to continue playing football for the bears, this doesn't feel like it's the right thing. Now maybe there's a comfort issue. There are sometimes when you're dealing with whomever on a training staff, maybe you don't trust them. And I understand I've had players tell me nightmare stories about training staff or a team doctor that they just don't vibe with. Anthony here and told us a few of them last week about his playing career. I'm not surprised. Like there, there guys will tell you these things like usually once they're done playing. And sometimes while they're still playing that there might be a trust issue,

12:27I did think it was interesting that he put out that video. And I'm like, okay, you're very twitchy. Like just the way that people remember you. But that's a one minute workout video. What they're asking you to do is is markedly harder. And I would love for that. I know that someone said someone texted in you like, well, they have to worry about the rest of the players, the active players. Right. Because I wondered why he wouldn't go do this during training camp. No. That that there trust me. There are more than enough people to go around. And what I would offer as an example of evidence of that is, Ozzy Trapilo. Like Ozzy Trapilo is getting all of this work. They're making sure that he's having padded practices. He's on his own program away from the active players on this roster. So you've seen it. There are plenty of opportunities for guys to keep working on their bodies as they get better. And in some cases, if the player is important enough, and I'm not trying to do this from like a hierarchical stage,

13:27but I think that if they if they felt comfortable with your staff, they would say, okay, we're going to bring this person in to work with you under the supervision of us. Now, sometimes that doesn't work. Alex Guerrero sometimes it ends up being that the player wants his specific guy to do his specific thing. But in a lot of cases, the training staff for the Bears can go, here's where we need you. And this is what we think. Sure. And then you talk to your guy, see what he says or she says about this. And then we can come up with a plan together. That's the part I need to know. I need to know is this authorized? Are the Bears okay with this? Or is this Kyler being like, I've had enough of this. I'm going to go work on my own. Has Ben spoken yet today? I know Caleb has spoken. I don't know what the time is going to be. He talked earlier before this before this came out.

14:29He was not asked about Kyler. So that's something that that obviously is next time he's next time he talks. They're off tomorrow, which is weird, but Thursday. Yeah, but tomorrow the injury report will come out. We'll know some more things about Rome. Somebody should try and ask Ryan Poles if this is authorized, but Ryan probably won't make himself available. Well, we'll see there's some good reporters on the beat. That's true. Maybe they'll find out over the next few hours of, is this something that that the Bears were actually okay with? Or if they're like, hey, man, this is a last ditch effort by him. Right. Hopefully it works. Whatever. I said Rams game, Plav game is when Kyler suited up and didn't play. It was the green Bay game where he's suited up and they had him on the roster. Yeah, he played great against the Rams. Like it's one of those things where he played so well against the Rams as you're like, man, where's this? If he were healthy, look what this defense could do. Yeah, it was the first green Bay game in green Bay. Got you. Thank you.

15:29And remember in the Rams game, it took him like a quarter because they were targeting him. Remember like in that game, they were targeting him. Yeah, to warm up and feel it. And by the time he got warmed up, he was out there making plays. Mm-hmm. So look, this is heading towards some kind of Kyler story to be told, like you're asking for. Larson, I have to assume the story that's going to be told is they didn't want me to rehab in the way that I wanted to or they thought I was ready to play and I wasn't ready to play. It's my body and I got to worry about it. Something like that is it possible. What possibility do you give that there's something real here in that and does it even matter? Like let's say, like it's the NBA thing. We're like, oh, you know, we're not sure about your calf and then that can lead to any killings and that can screw you up. Like I understand the concern if it's something that's legit like that from Kyler, but also you are a commodity under contract.

16:32I and just to be completely transparent, I almost always default to players, especially in this game because it's so hard. I know you do. But I also remember what it was like for all of us to speculate about what was going on and I'll give to like historical references here. Remember what was going on with Luel Dang with the bulls and how he was like, I don't feel right. And the bulls are like, he just needs active rest. Meanwhile, he needed a spinal tap, right? So like there, their, their medical staff got it wrong. Like God, it's so wrong on Luel Dang. And the other one is Derek Rose where you have the player not feeling right and he can't figure out a way to articulate it that it's going to satisfy everyone and be like, oh, people just thought people thought that Derek Rose didn't want to play basketball. That a guy whose whole thing is I whoop. That was the comp last week that got brought up a lot.

17:36And we talked about a Ryan McGuffee and I in this spot talked about whether that was a fair comp or not. And there were multiple Derek injuries and multiple narratives that took hold at different times. There's a lot of stuff that was surrounding it. Just like there's a lot of stuff that's surrounding Kyler. So I want to try to give him the benefit of the doubt. I feel like the stuff that surrounds it comes later though. And there is a medical issue. If it's honorable people, you know, there's like there is a legit medical issue and a discrepancy and opinion that's underneath there. I don't know if they're what there is in terms of an honest discrepancy in this situation. I think that for all of us because of how football is overall, that we all tend to think, well, toughen up buttercup, get out there and play. I think that in other situations, we give a little bit more to players. For example, guys have an issue with a UCL and that guy wants to go see their doctor.

18:36We really don't have a problem with that. Like we don't have an issue with a pitcher going to go see Dr. James Andrews or anyone else that isn't connected with the team. With a football player, it always feels weird when someone leaves the team because it's so team focused. And it feels like there's a dereliction that's going on here. It's why it might not matter to Kyler at all. But it's why I think that this isn't one of those things where your platforming of yourself is sufficient enough. There needs to be someone there to tell your story. Also, for you to answer some of the questions that people have, so that they kind of understand your point of view. Like sit down or have a conversation with Brad Biggs. What if the story is, I don't trust the medical staff? Alex, I think that that's kind of where we're at. Like where we're left wondering that.

19:38We heard Ryan Poles say last week like he's going to have to push through some discomfort to come back and he had been rehabbing in the building. And then we see the video of him not rehabbing in the building. And then now we know he's definitely not rehabbing in the building. Yeah, I think that that's fair. And it might just be the same way that we talk about when you get a bad coach in a player and they can't get on the same page that you might not know how to commute like the communication between these two people or these three people might not be on point. And so you go, where can I go get the help that I need? Or maybe I'm not explaining this right. Like I'm not, I don't, I feel okay. He's not explaining it at all. Or at least not to us publicly. He might have explained it to them privately. And they might have been like, that's not what our trainer said. But the choice to not explain it all like creates a lot of assumptions and ugly guessing it's going on. Herb Howard's going to be on the show at five o'clock.

20:39And a lot of the latest on this, but also in Roma Dunez, who's got a foot injury that is apparently not the same foot injury. Yeah. And the bears are hopeful that he will play on Sunday in game one. Braxton Jones is going to be your starting left tackle because there weren't a lot of choices. Ben did talk about that though. Last evening, I want to be able to put up a more online before the name started on the tackle. Is that Braxton? Yeah, Braxton will start forced. How will you judge that position over like how much of a sample size do you need? No, we're going in the right direction here. Or maybe if it's healthy, he gets back in the mix. Yeah, it's every position that is being evaluated. I just talked to the skill guys on offense. And you know, right now I don't know when we line up in certain personal groups who's going to be our receivers right now. It's early by the time we get to Friday, Saturday, that's when we'll stamp them. They earn that during the course of the week. I don't think it's any different for the offense align. Just because I'm saying that here on a Tuesday, it doesn't mean that that's how it always shakes out.

21:40He's got to earn that, Braxton does. As do all the players that are going to be active on game day. They got to earn it. They got to show us that they deserve to be out there. That's how we kind of go about it in this building. And I think they understand that. Speaks that doesn't make me feel great about Roman Dunes. No, there's, I know I get you. I totally understand. It also feels like a razor thin margin between starters and nobody. And another guy last year that rehab didn't go very well. Yeah. It's your body. Now, when Rome talked about like the new normal, I talked about this for her power a few weeks ago. I get that. I have an ankle that has been fused. Three bones refusing to one had a triple arthrodeces on my right ankle. So my right ankle does like this, but it doesn't go. It goes up and down. It doesn't go side to side. And so that's the new normal for me. Now, I've made it back to doing the stuff that I want to do. Athletically, I've run races.

22:42I can do stuff. All that. But I understand what he means about the new normal. But people don't want to hear it. From football players specifically, they don't want to hear it. And so that's why I'm always like, I want to go in, but I also want to give them the benefit of the doubt that something's not quite right. I hear you. I'm going in and I've been going in. It's fair. And it's honestly, it's where I am. And it's based on some conversations and some sourcing as well. I get it. But we'll see. We will see. I would really love it if Kyler could offer some clarity. And it may not matter to him. But if he could, like, there's a lot of people that he could reach out to. People who have covered her power, her got like a nice honest moment from him a couple of weeks ago. And where he was kind of pushing back on narrative that he didn't want to play ball. I don't think that that's what's happening here. I don't know what is, but I don't think that's it.

23:45Lards, am I the only person who's a little bummed that the football games are actually starting? And this is nothing to do with baseball and baseball season. Wait, what? I'm a little. You don't want NFL season to get here. Just bears. I'm a little. I'll explain. You don't want the bears to play football. They will. I think they will. And I'll enjoy it. Well, I'll enjoy it. But I just I need to come clean about something in the trust tree. All right. We will do that next on, on Spiegel and Leonard here on the score. This segment is heading back to campus. Time to upgrade your entire tech setup. Switch to Verizon, buy or bring a qualifying smartphone

24:47and get a smartwatch and a tablet on us. That's all your essential gear for zero extra dollars. Ace your classes, track your fitness, and stream your favorite shows. Visit Verizon.com or your local store today. Bring an eligible phone to purchase a new phone with device payment on post-paid service plan required. Up to $649.99 watch and tablet device payment purchase with new line on $20 per month tablet plan and $15 per month watch plan for 36 months required. Less up to $650 per month credit applied over 36 months per device. Additional taxes fees in terms of apply. Let's clear the air about hybrids with Kia. I live in Pasadena, so my Kia Telluride Turbo Hybrid has to do a little of everything. School bags, speech chairs, a grocery run, I swore would be small. And somehow there's still room in my sister-tex. I'm landing in Burbank, come pick me up. It seats seven, has over 600 miles of range and makes the 134 feel a little less like a test of character. Space, range, flexibility. The Kia Telluride Turbo Hybrid is built for the way L.A. moves. Find your way forward at Kia.com. Kia, movement that inspires. Crystal Geyser Alpine Springwater is now the official water partner of the Iron Man North America series.

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