One day after the Bears said they won’t have fans at Soldier Field for the foreseeable future, Bears coach Matt Nagy said Tuesday that health and safety should be paramount.
“Across the league, you are seeing there are different things going on and different rules that teams are implementing,” he said. “For now, that happens to be where we’re at. I trust in everybody that is making the decisions … and just we’ll see where it ends up.”
The NFL does not have a uniform fan rule, meaning some states might allow their stadiums to open at partial capacity. Others won’t.
“It will definitely be different without fans, without the noise, without everything,” quarterback Nick Foles said. “I don’t really know what to expect, but I do know that everyone will have to deal with it [in the same game]. … So the team that overcomes adversity the best is usually the one that’s successful.”
Receiver Cordarrelle Patterson, who plays catch with fans before games, doesn’t know who he’ll toss the ball to this season.
“That’s going to be the hardest thing for me,” he said. “That’s going to hurt me. I’m going to have to throw it out there, no matter who’s out there. Somebody’s going to have to go get it.”