Bears lose OTA practice after violating NFL’s no contact policy: reports

Matt Eberflus has already had a minor hiccup in his first year as head coach of the Chicago Bears. 

The Bears were forced to cancel Tuesday’s organized team activities after violating the league’s rules for non-contact practices during the offseason back in May, The Chicago Tribune first reported Tuesday.  

Representatives with the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) were reportedly present during a session at Halas Hall last month and witnessed on-field contact, sources told ESPN. The team was initially issued a warning, but several other instances were observed in videos of practices requested by the NFLPA. 

BEARS’ JUSTIN FIELDS OPTIMISTIC FOR 2ND SEASON, READY TO REVAMP CULTURE IN ORGANIZATION 

The NFLPA clearly spells out several rules for offseason workouts including prohibiting “contact work,” which is described as “‘live’ blocking, tackling, pass-rushing, bump-and-run, etc.”

Former Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer was off to a similar start in his first year as an NFL head coach, getting fined $100,000 for violating the league’s OTA rules. The Jaguars were also fined $200,000.

After being docked a practice, the Bears now have just two sessions left of OTAs. They begin mandatory minicamp on June 14.