Matt Nagy: Bears knew about Mario Edwards incident, charges

Bears head coach Matt Nagy declined to comment Wednesday on the situation involving defensive end Mario Edwards Jr.

News broke Tuesday that Edwards had been charged for “assault on a female” in October following a fight at the Bears’ team hotel the night before they played the Carolina Panthers in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Officers responded just after midnight on Oct. 18 “in reference to a female hitting a male with her hand and scratching his forehead,” according to an incident report filed with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department obtained by Shaw Media.

Edwards, 26, and an unnamed 28-year-old woman are both listed as the victim in the police report. Edwards and the woman both reported bruises and scratches.

Nagy confirmed Wednesday that the Bears learned of the incident the night it occurred. He also confirmed that the team knew when charges were filed on Oct. 20. At this time, the warrant has not been served.

Nagy said Edwards would continue to play and practice with the team. Edwards has played in eight games since that night, including against Carolina the next afternoon, and as recently as Sunday against Houston.

“There’s not much else for me to add because of the legal situation,” Nagy said Wednesday. “Clearly, we take these matters very seriously. The authorities were involved that evening and we were immediately aware. We’ve been in lock-step with the NFL on this the entire way.”

Nagy declined to say what the team rules are this season in regards to having guests at the team hotel. He said any protocol violations due to COVID-19 regulations were dealt with internally.

Other players across the league have faced fines for breaking the NFL’s COVID-19 protocols. During training camp, former Seattle Seahawks cornerback Kemah Siverand tried to sneak a woman, disguised in Seahawks team gear, into the team hotel. Siverand was waived days later. The Denver Broncos fined their quarterbacks after they held a meeting without masks on, which led to all four quarterbacks going on the reserve/COVID-19 list.

Other teams have faced COVID-19 protocol-related fines, and some coaches have been fined for not properly wearing masks during games.