Chicago Bears: 5 early predictions for training camp

Benny Cunningham’s role diminishes

Part of me feels bad for using the phrase, “back where he belongs,” but it’s the God-honest truth. Last year, you had a guy like Tarik Cohen being sent to the bench for Benny Cunningham on crucial third down situations. You had a head coach who answered questions as to why Cohen was benched with the infamous, “defense dictates offense” response.

Now, John Fox is long gone and a fully-capable coaching staff is in place. I firmly, 100 percent believe that Cunningham will be used sparingly on offense, and that starts in camp. Cunningham is an excellent special teams player to have on the roster, and he provides veteran experience on that side of the ball which is great to have.

Cohen, though, is a special kind of player who belongs on the field and in crucial situations any time they arise. In camp, it will be fun to watch as Cohen’s role expands into a receiver as well. He’s said already that Nagy is making every offensive player learn all positions within the scheme, and that includes all receivers, tight ends and backs. Cohen represents the most-advanced Swiss Army knife of them all, and fans should be excited to see how his role takes shape during camp.

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As for Cunningham, once again, he’ll be fine. He will make the roster — at least he should. With so many weapons on offense now, Nagy won’t want to wear those guys out using them on special teams as much — well, that’s my hope. Cunningham will be waiting in the wing to take on a lot of the kickoff duties full-time.