4 things we learned at Chicago Bears minicamp, including Robert Quinn’s absence and Dakota Dozier’s injury

The Chicago Bears kicked off their mandatory minicamp Tuesday at Halas Hall — the final piece to the first offseason for a new regime — and it was another bumpy performance for the offense with cornerback Jaylon Johnson and rookie safety Jaquan Brisker coming away with interceptions.

Here are four things we heard and saw.

Since the voluntary offseason program opened in April, coach Matt Eberflus has been mindful to thank players just about every time he has spoken about the development of the team.

When mandatory minicamp kicked off Tuesday morning at Halas Hall, there was one significant absence. Quinn, the outside linebacker who set a franchise record with 18 ½ sacks last season, was not in attendance after choosing to take a pass on the voluntary portion of the offseason as well.

Quinn, the highest earner on the roster at $12.9 million, is subject to a fine for each day he misses.

“We’re not talking about that as an organization,” Eberflus said. “We hoped he would be here. (GM) Ryan (Poles) and his staff are going to work through that. I really don’t have any other comment other than that about Robert Quinn.

“Yeah, I’ve talked to him. Wished him happy birthday a few weeks ago. … In terms of being here, not being here, I’m going to leave that up to Ryan.”

The absence of Quinn, 32, only fuels speculation that the best move for both parties could be a trade. He’s well-traveled and might invite the chance to play with a contender. Quinn is an asset for Poles who will have diminished value by the time the Bears are ready to contend again. The Bears might have to settle for a Day 3 pick in return for Quinn — and they’ll need to find a trade partner with ample salary-cap space — but that’s how it goes for a player over 30 making a lot of money.

The Bears don’t have a lot of experience at defensive end after Quinn, but they like Al Quadin-Muhammad, who was on the sideline during practice, and Trevis Gipson is ready for an expanded role after notching seven sacks in 2021. Without Quinn, it would be easier for the coaching staff to get rookie Dominique Robinson on the field to evaluate him.

Dozier went down at the end of a play late in practice when the ball came loose. After the training staff evaluated him, Dozier was helped onto a cart and taken to the locker room. Eberflus has consistently declined to address injuries. It appeared Dozier suffered a left leg injury, potentially his left knee.

The injury is noteworthy considering Dozier, a backup throughout his eight-year with the exception of 2020 when he started 16 games at left guard for the Minnesota Vikings, has been in the mix with the first team. Dozier and Sam Mustipher have gotten the vast majority of reps with the starters at right guard, and it appeared that competition could carry into training camp.

If Dozier’s injury is serious, the Bears would have to proceed with Mustipher as the starter, reshuffle the deck with players under contract or perhaps look outside the building for help.

Eberflus said the team was sticking with its plan of splitting the first half of OTAs and minicamp practices with one group and then the second half with a few changes. That means rookie Braxton Jones remains with the starters at left tackle. Larry Borom is still at right tackle and Teven Jenkins, last year’s second-round pick, is playing right tackle with the second team.

“All combinations are open, I’ll just say that,” Eberflus said. “I’m not going to comment on is it yes or no but I’ll say that we have an open lens of all combinations are open. And we’re just trying to find the best five.”

Eberflus considers Marinelli a good friend and mentor after the pair coached together with the Dallas Cowboys from 2013-17. Eberflus said Marinelli, who was the Detroit Lions coach for three years and spent four seasons with the Bears, including three as defensive coordinator, taught him about player-coach relationships.

“To be able to show the player that you care through action and to prepare the player to play his best on Sunday,” Eberflus said. “And then you’re able to challenge them and push them past the point they can’t take themselves, and that’s what I learned from Rod. And players, everybody who talks about him just loves him to death. And man, I know when he was here he pushed the guys past the point they couldn’t take themselves.”

Marinelli, whom Eberflus called “a dynamic speaker,” will address the Bears at a team meeting Wednesday. Marinelli recently retired from coaching after spending two seasons as the Las Vegas Raiders defensive line coach.

Hall of Fame executive Bill Polian, who helped the Bears during their search for new general manager Ryan Poles and Eberflus in January, also watched practice Tuesday.

Videos of quarterback Justin Fields and tight end Cole Kmet hitting home runs at Wrigley dominated social media Thursday afternoon.

At a team meeting that morning on the final day of OTAs, Eberflus told players he was bringing them to the ballpark and then showed them the Bears’ history playing there from 1921-70.

When the Bears arrived at the field, players were split into teams for a multi-event competition that included a home run derby. Fields, who played baseball in high school in Georgia, hit two home runs.

“I honestly didn’t think I could hit a home run, but I got a couple out, so I was surprised by that,” Fields said. “Actually, once I saw a few guys go before me and they got close, I was like, ‘All right, this is possible.’ It was awesome. I think everyone had a good time. It was definitely a great team-bonding event.”

However, Fields didn’t win the event. Kmet, who played baseball and football at Notre Dame, hit three homers to win the derby, the Bears reported.

“I was happy when we were picking teams,” said wide receiver Darnell Mooney, who was on Kmet’s team. “I was like, as long as I get Cole, it doesn’t matter what team I’m on.”