Matt Nagy defends Cam Meredith decision, says Bears’ WR depth ‘could improve’

Bears coach Matt Nagy defended the team’s decision to let Cam Meredith leave for the Saints, even as he admitted the team should add another receiver.

“The depth right now could improve — that’s the obvious answer,” Nagy said Tuesday, nine days before the start of the NFL Draft. “But again, you have guys in this room, you say today there are guys who are there and you don’t want to slight them. You have to give them every opportunity.

“What [general manager] Ryan [Pace] and I will do, we’ll talk to the staff and figure out which direction we want to go. But you really can’t have enough wide receivers.”

The Bears decided not to keep Meredith, letting him sign a two-year deal with the Saints with $5.4 million guaranteed. Pace and Nagy met with Meredith to tell him the news, and Nagy said they departed on good terms.

“His biggest question mark is of his injury with his knee,” Nagy said of Meredith, who tore the anterior cruciate ligament and partially tore the medial collateral ligament in his left knee during the third preseason game last year. “That’s the No. 1 thing. You’ve got to see where you’re at with that. And then you’ve got to go into the fit and where he’s at and different things.”

Injury report

Nagy still doesn’t know when new receiver Allen Robinson and guard Kyle Long will return to team drills. Robinson is recovering from a torn ACL in his left knee, while Long had surgery on his neck, shoulder and left elbow this offseason.

In the interim, Robinson’s challenge is “mental,” Nagy said.

“When I sit there and talk to you about installing plays and watching guys’ eyes and seeing what they’re doing as far as taking notes, he is at the forefront of that,” Nagy said.

Meredith’s departure doesn’t up the stakes on Robinson’s recovery, Nagy said. The receiver expects to be ready for training camp.

“I’d hate to put pressure — that, ‘You’ve got to be ready or else’ — because I know he’ll be ready,” Nagy said.

This and that

Inside linebacker Danny Trevathan was excused from practice for personal reasons, Nagy said. Trevathan indicated online he is dealing with a hospitalized family member.

• Cornerback Bryce Callahan signed his restricted free-agent tender, a one-year, $1.907 million contract. Callahan received some interest around the league but didn’t sign an offer sheet.

• The Bears have five tryout players in camp, with two named Nick Williams. One is a receiver and the other is a defensive end.

Others include cornerback Tharold Simon, a former Seahawks fifth-round pick, and outside linebacker Ryan Delaire, who has made stops with the Panthers and Redskins.

Receiver Marlon Brown is the most accomplished of the group. He caught 87 passes for 891 yards for the Ravens from 2013 to ’15.