Less than a week after his Bears-issued iPad was stolen from his unlocked car, rookie linebacker Roquan Smith joked he’ll get a new one soon — and it’ll have a lock.
‘‘Everything happens for a reason,’’ Smith said Friday, the first day of rookie minicamp at Halas Hall. ‘‘I learned from it.’’
Smith called Athens-Clarke County (Georgia) Police last Saturday to report items had been stolen from his BMW. In addition to the iPad, they included three Georgia jerseys, his helmet, watches, electronics and shoes. Police recovered everything but the iPad from a residence in Athens and another in Summerville, Georgia.
Georgia student Landyn Shane Durham, 20, was arrested Thursday on suspicion of entering an automobile, a felony. He also is accused of taking a jersey from Georgia lacrosse player Austin Eiseman’s unlocked car.
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‘‘I’m just grateful to the police in Athens and also in Summerville for doing what they did,’’ Smith said.
Coach Matt Nagy said Smith handled the incident well, calling it ‘‘a wakeup call to all the guys that you always want to take care of your stuff as much as you can.’’ He also said it was a reminder to Smith to understand his high-profile position.
Miller limited
Receiver Anthony Miller, one of the Bears’ second-round picks, did individual work but didn’t participate in live team drills. A fracture between the base and middle part of the fifth metatarsal in his right foot caused him to miss field work at the Senior Bowl and the NFL Scouting Combine.
Miller since has said he’s fully recovered, but Nagy said the Bears were being cautious.
‘‘We want to make sure he’s doing everything as far as individual drills, routes on air,’’ Nagy said. ‘‘And he can go in and go full speed right now. But it’s big for us to get him going mentally and, with his foot and everything, just kind of get back to working into 100 percent.
‘‘Again, when you get on the turf, you want to be smart. We’re in no rush to do anything.”
Murray back
Nagy said it wasn’t hard to lure former Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray out of his job as a color commentator for the CBS Sports Network to try to resurrect his playing career.
Murray, who was drafted in the fifth round by Nagy’s Chiefs in 2014, was the most polished of the three quarterbacks at Halas Hall on a tryout basis.
Murray, the first player in Southeastern Conference history to throw for more than 3,000 yards in four consecutive years, knows the subtleties of the Bears’ new offense.
‘‘You see him come into the huddle and give little nuances to the plays and little reminders and gadgets to the guys of, ‘Hey, remember this, remember that,’ and then he says the play,’’ Nagy said. ‘‘So that’s a benefit to those guys that are in there with him.’’
