Five questions for Bears brass as team reports to training camp

BOURBONNAIS — When Bears GM Ryan Pace and coach John Fox address the media during training camp move-in day Wednesday, they’ll have myriad questions to answer.

Here the five most relevant ones:

Who’s healthy?

The Bears will announce Wednesday which players, if any, will open camp on the physically unable to perform list.

Three Bears are candidates. Guard Kyle Long is recovering from right ankle surgery in November; inside linebacker Danny Trevathan is rehabbing from a ruptured right patellar tendon suffered in November; and tight end Zach Miller is recovering from foot surgery.

During mandatory minicamp, coach Fox said Trevathan and Miller were “going to be cutting it close” for the start of camp, while Long would be “touch-and-go” for the first day in Bourbonnais.

Camp is important to all three, for different reasons. Long will switch from right guard to left. Miller is fighting for a roster spot after the Bears signed Dion Sims and drafted Adam Shaheen. Trevathan has a starting job with his name on it, but a patellar tendon injury is serious.

How will they juggle quarterbacks?

When the Bears signed Mike Glennon and drafted Mitch Trubisky, their most immediate concern revolved around how to get each enough snaps in practice. Glennon, after all, has tried 11 passes in the past two years; Trubisky started only 13 college games.

The Bears tweaked their practice schedule to afford the two more reps. They’re also experimenting with virtual reality, giving each quarterback a vision of game action without having to leave the quarterback room.

Glennon, the starter, will run with the first team, but Trubisky will be given every chance to grow comfortable with players who will actually make the team.

Live snaps will be at a premium in Bourbonnais. The Bears must manage them to give each quarterback the best chance to succeed.

What constitutes success?

Fox is entering the third year of a four-year pact. For him to see his contract through —or get an extension, avoiding a lame-duck situation — the Bears need to improve.

But exactly how much? Simply topping last year’s mark 3-13 is too low a bar.

Is an 8-8 record progress enough to keep Fox? A winning record? Don’t expect Pace to give a firm answer Wednesday — or even a public set of guidelines.

Rather, Pace will watch for signs of growth when evaluating his staff.

How fast can they start?

The schedule-maker didn’t do the Bears any favors — they host the NFC champion Falcons to start the season, then travel to play the Buccaneers. They return home to face the Steelers before traveling to face Packers only four days later.

Those four teams went a combined 41-23 last year; three made the playoffs.

If the Bears start 0-4 — and, as of right now, they won’t be favored in any of the four games — the rest of the season will be nonstop talk about Fox’s job and Trubisky’s timeline.

Who’s getting a takeaway?

The most oft-repeated statistic of the offseason was this: no team in NFL history had fewer than the Bears’ 11 takeaways last year.

The Bears brought in two new starting cornerbacks — Marcus Cooper on a three-year deal, and Prince Amukamara on a one-year pact — and cut team leader Tracy Porter. Kyle Fuller, the former first-round pick, will spend training camp playing for his roster spot.

They signed Quintin Demps — at 32, the oldest player on their roster — with hopes he can recreate his six-interception season last year with the Texans.

Nothing is sacred, though — if any player on the Bears’ roster shows a nose for the ball, the team must consider giving them playing time. Two candidates: Deiondre’ Hall, who will play safety as well as corner, and fourth-round pick Eddie Jackson, who was a dynamic safety and returner at Alabama.