Friday afternoon was the deadline for NFL players to opt out of the 2021 season because of COVID-19 concerns.
That is the route nose tackle Eddie Goldman took last season when he missed the entire year. The Chicago Bears have been adamant that they expect the talented run stuffer back this season after he skipped the voluntary offseason workout program and was a no-show for mandatory minicamp last month.
“We do expect him to be at training camp,” coach Matt Nagy said on the first day of minicamp. “Rocking and rolling there at training camp.”
Until Goldman shows up, straps on a helmet and takes the field, this is a legitimate question for the organization. The Bears had to figure after missing the previous season Goldman would be champing at the bit to get back with his teammates during the low-pressure offseason program. That didn’t happen and then he skipped minicamp, subjecting himself to a $93,085 fine.
Goldman hasn’t spoken publicly, which has made it difficult to forecast his next move. The 3 p.m. deadline for players to opt out wasn’t necessarily the thing to watch here.
One league source suggested Goldman could be weighing retirement. Perhaps that’s the type of speculation that comes when a player hasn’t been on the field in nearly 19 months, or maybe it’s reason to wonder if Goldman will indeed be rocking and rolling when the Bears reconvene at Halas Hall in less than four weeks.
Of course, the Bears would prefer Goldman, 27, to show up and earn the $4.75 million in base salary he has for this season — the amount he was to have earned in 2020. It’s entirely possible that is what happens too. Inside linebacker Danny Trevathan joined Nagy in expressing confidence Goldman will be present for the start of training camp.
The last time the Bears saw Goldman on the field was during the first quarter of the Dec. 22, 2019, loss to the Kansas City Chiefs at Soldier Field. A concussion knocked Goldman out of the game, and he sat out the season finale the next week at Minnesota.
His presence was missed last season when the run defense slipped to 15th in the NFL without him. When injuries sidelined Goldman for 10 games during the 2016 season, the Bears were 27th against the run. There was significantly different personnel then as opposed to what the team has now, but you can’t undersell the importance of Goldman to the unit on run downs.
The Bears added depth to the interior of the line with veteran Mike Pennel. The eight-year veteran has appeared in 91 career games (16 starts), spending the previous two seasons with the Chiefs. He’s a quality run defender but the kind of player the Bears would prefer in a rotation with Goldman — not as a replacement for him.
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