After sitting out Wednesday’s practice with a sprained shoulder, Bengals quarterback Joe Flacco was upgraded to a limited participant Thursday. Receiver Ja’Marr Chase told Bengals reporters he looked back to normal.
“Any time you play one of these veteran quarterbacks who’s been around the league for a long time and seen a lot of things, you have to be on point,” Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen said. “There’s not a lot of things you can get away with.
“There’s not a lot of things that really fool those guys.”
‘A little attitude’
Allen said new cornerback C.J. Gardner-Johnson “brings a little attitude . . . which I think is good.” Allen coached the combustible Gardner-Johnson, whom the Bears signed Wednesday, for three years in New Orleans.
“He’s a highly competitive player, and he competes on every single play,” Allen said. “That’s fully what I would expect for him to do with us.”
The Bears began to “force-feed” him snaps at slot cornerback Wednesday, Allen said, with him never missing a down. He focused on third-down defense Thursday and will learn the Bears’ red zone concepts Friday.
“We’ll make some decisions as we get closer to the game,” Allen said.
Notes
Cornerback Tyrique Stevenson is on pace to play Sunday against Chase and the Bengals after being upgraded to a full practice participant Thursday. He hurt his shoulder against the Saints.
• Tight end Cole Kmet, who has a back problem, was limited for the second day in a row after missing the Ravens game.
• Running back Roschon Johnson (back) and defensive end Dominique Robinson (ankle) sat out practice, while guard Joe Thuney received a veteran rest day.
• With CBS broadcasting the game Sunday, sideline reporter Aditi Kinkhabwala will be on the crew and doing her first Bears game since the awkward halftime interview with coach Ben Johnson during the Raiders game last month.
Johnson misheard or misinterpreted one of her questions and responded rudely, drawing backlash on social media. He said afterward he “was a little bit disappointed” in how he came across and regretted his tone.
Contributing: Jason Lieser
