Bears return to Halas Hall for practice, place C Cody Whitehair on reserve/COVID-19 list

The Bears cautiously returned to their Halas Hall training facility in Lake Forest on Friday, one day after canceling practice and closing the building due to a positive COVID-19 test from a player.

Bears center Cody Whitehair has tested positive for the novel coronavirus. The Bears placed Whitehair on the reserve/COVID-19 list Friday, but didn't include any additional close contacts on the list.

Offensive tackle Jason Spriggs remains on the reserve/COVID-19 list after testing positive earlier in the week. Right guard Germain Ifedi, who was deemed a close contact of Spriggs’, was reinstated to the active roster Friday.

The Bears learned late Thursday night that they could return to their facility for practice Friday, and that none of Whitehair’s teammates was deemed a high-risk close contact.

“That was the best-case scenario,” Bears coach Matt Nagy said. “All of us understand how real it is and how it can totally affect a practice, a game, and really weeks. And we handled it good. Now, for us, it’s to continue staying on top of this every single day.”

Ifedi said he has been in contact with both Spriggs and Whitehair and that they are “doing well,” and that they’re following the protocols set forth by the league.

Bears safety Tashaun Gipson praised Whitehair for wearing his mask all week before he knew he had the virus.

“Cody was – he had on the mask, he made sure that he had everything going on to make sure that he protected himself, even though I don't think he knew he had it,” Gipson said Friday. “But he's a pro's pro. When I say wear your mask and do the things that's necessary to keep the team safe, he's a guy who'll do it. That's why it wasn't a complete outbreak.”

Prior to this week, the Bears had one practice squad offensive lineman, Badara Traore, placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list back on Oct. 10. So this wasn’t the first time the team has been in this situation, but this time it affected the 53-man roster.

Although they returned to practice, the Bears remain in the NFL’s intensive protocol, which means players return home directly after practice and conduct meetings virtually.

As of early Friday, half the NFL’s 32 teams are dealing with at least one case of the coronavirus. The rise in cases in the NFL has mirrored the rise in cases across the country.

“Naturally, when there’s a lot of community spread, it’s going to get into the football community because of you’ve got so many staff, personnel, players,” Ifedi said. “It’s inevitable. It’s a hard thing to contain. I think the NFL and the NFLPA and [NFL chief medical officer Dr. Allen Sills] and his team have done a good job. When there are cases, they’re not pushing the panic meter.”

The Bears play the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, and will fly down to Nashville on Saturday. This year, the team has been taking two airplanes in order to give players and personnel enough room to spread out.