Chicago Bears: Chilo Rachal’s Return Doesn’t Mean Team Should Accept Him Back
Published by Jeff Chase on November 22, 2012
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears
Following the Chicago Bears‘ loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Monday Night Football, it was more than obvious that Lovie Smith had to make some major decisions regarding the team’s offensive line. One of those changes was the demotion of Chilo Rachal, who then decided to the leave the team.
While the Bears did cite personal reasons for why Rachal left the team, the (former) starting guard has suddenly decided to return to Halas Hall.
Chilo Rachal back at Bears facility bit.ly/TRDbro
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) November 22, 2012
While it is great to see Rachal return, the Bears shouldn’t be so quick to welcome back the struggling guard with open arms. Besides the fact that he has been struggling to protect the quarterback this season, this guy walked out on his team.
According to Vaugn McLure of the Chicago Tribune, the Bears are concerned with the player’s state of mind, meaning his return to the locker room doesn’t guarantee his return to the field.
It is unclear if Rachal will be reinstated to the team, but the Bears are seriously concerned about his emotional state, the source said. According to NFL rules, Rachal had five days to report back to the team after leaving Wednesday.
In San Francisco, the Bears gave up six sacks to the 49ers, allowing backup quarterback Jason Campbell to take a serious beating. This was coming off just a week after starting QB Jay Cutler suffered from a concussion, causing him to miss the Week 11 matchup on Monday Night Football.
It seemed clear after the outcome out west that the Bears would need to make some major changes to their offensive line, which has started to take form as we get closer and closer to Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings.
With the team reportedly making major changes, they are best to leave Rachal off the roster. This team is in a fragile state after two consecutive losses, and the last thing they need is an unproductive player causing an uproar in the locker room.
At this point, the Bears need to focus on positive leadership from guys like Brian Urlacher, Julius Peppers, Matt Forte and—believe it or not—Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall.
The Bears have a chance to get things back on the right track this week against the Vikings at Soldier Field. To get that done, they need to make sure everyone they have out there on Sunday is there for the team. At this point in time, Rachal doesn’t appear to be one of those guys.
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