Bears coach Matt Nagy sat on the team charter and talked to receivers Anthony Miller and Josh Bellamy hours after they were ejected Sunday for defending quarterback Mitch Trubisky.
Nagy wouldn’t say Monday if the receivers will face any internal discipline, but they figure to be fined by the NFL later this week.
Both were tossed for fighting after 49ers safety Marcell Harris hit Trubisky while he was trying to slide in front of the Bears’ bench. Nagy walked the line between approving of the fight and understanding the players’ motivations.
“It’s a tough deal there because everybody here is a competitor and your natural instincts come out to protect somebody,” Nagy said. “So I’m not condoning what they did. You’ve got to play within the rules, and you want to make sure you’re not doing anything to hurt yourself or hurt others or do anything to hurt the league and how it looks. They know that.”
Nagy acknowledged that the hit rubbed the Bears the wrong way, given that Trubisky was forced to miss two games with a shoulder injury after Vikings safety Harrison Smith hit him while he slid.
“It’s a violent game,” Nagy said. “And when you see your boy, teammate, friend or family member getting hit like that, especially weeks ago when something similar happened like that, it’s natural. I don’t care what anybody says, it’s natural to protect your guy, and that’s what they did.”
Will Long be back Sunday?
Nagy said he hopes that guard Kyle Long, who returned to practice Friday, can play Sunday against the Vikings.
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“I like to use this word, and I do believe in it — ‘cautiously’ optimistic,” Nagy said. “I think that he’s doing a good job right now. He feels good. It would be nice to get him out there.”
Long has been on injured reserve since hurting his right foot Oct. 28. He’s eligible to return to game action Sunday. The Bears would prefer to see how Long feels in the season finale rather than put him in a playoff game after a 10-week layoff.
“We’ll see how he does and how he feels each day,” he said. “But last week I thought when he was in there he looked good. But we gotta just kind of keep an eye on it, day by day.”
Robinson still sore
The Bears will monitor receiver Allen Robinson’s health after he told the team he was sore following the game. Robinson hurt his midsection when he dove to make a 43-yard catch in the first quarter but returned in the second quarter.
He said after the game that he had the wind knocked out of him, too, but made reference to his ribs.
“We’ll see here in the next couple days when he gets back in here how he is,” Nagy said. “We’ll just monitor it and make a decision as we go.”
