Bears activate G Lachavious Simmons from reserve/COVID-19 list

The Bears reinstated rookie guard Lachavious Simmons from the NFL’s reserve/COVID-19 list Friday, almost two weeks after he was first placed on it.

Simmons tested positive for the coronavirus on Nov. 7. The Bears were in a Nashville, Tenn., hotel room, waiting to face the Titans, when they found out. Simmons was returned to the Chicago area in a limousine; the team wanted a glass partition between the guard and the driver.

“He’s from Tennessee [State], so that was like his homecoming, you know, and that was the sad part,” offensive line coach Juan Castillo said earlier this month. “His family was there and everything ... he was pretty upset. ... It was sad because all his family was there so he was crying.”

Simmons was the last Bears player remaining on the reserve list. Center Cody Whitehair and tackle Jason Spriggs tested positive, while safety Deon Bush and guard Germain Ifedi were close contacts of someone who was infected.