BOURBONNAIS, Ill. — The Bears claimed placekicker Roberto Aguayo on Sunday, which likely will re-open a competition that seemingly closed a week ago.
Aguayo starred at Florida State and was a second-round pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last year, but only made 71 percent of his field goal attempts (22/31) as a rookie and missed two PATs, too. Connor Barth, who was replaced by Aguayo in Tampa Bay after the 2015 season, hit 78.3 percent of his field goals last year (18/23) and missed one PAT.
The Bears waived undrafted free agent Andy Philips last Monday, leaving Barth as the only placekicker on the training camp roster.
At the least, Aguayo will provide competition for Barth — but at best, he shakes free of the pressure he had with Tampa Bay and is able to re-gain the form he had at Florida State (69/78 field goals, 198/198 PATs). Bringing him in makes sense and seems to be worth a shot.
Trubisky finishes Sunday strong
On Tuesday — the Bears’ last padded practice before their preseason opener — Mitch Trubisky ended practice with an interception in the end zone during a red zone drill. He finished practice on Sunday — the Bears’ first padded practice since Thursday night — on a much higher note.
In a two-minute drill in 11-on-11 work, Trubisky did the following on his final three plays: A long completion to wide receiver Tanner Gentry, a touchdown to tight end Daniel Brown and a run into the end zone for a two-point conversion.
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With Mark Sanchez not participating (his ankle ailment is considered minor, and he’s expected to play Saturday against the Arizona Cardinals), Trubisky worked with the Bears’ second-team offense on Sunday. But that’s not an indication he’ll continue to get second-team reps in practice or in preseason games, with coach John Fox saying that reps — no matter with what unit — are the most important things for the young quarterback.
“You saw Thursday night that we kind of hold that in high regard, getting him opportunities to play,” Fox said. “I’ve watched a lot of young quarterbacks starting, going back to Marino and Elway, how they did it, how they progressed. We got a good plan. A big part of that plan is getting him playing opportunities.”
From the sick bay: A bad break for Wheaton
Markus Wheaton was back in pads Sunday for the first time since his appendectomy, but fractured his left pinky trying to make a catch during practice.
“Hopefully that won't be too big of a setback,” Fox said. “He's a great kid, he works really hard, he's a great teammate and he does have downfield speed that we saw early in the offseason and hopefully we'll get to see here really soon.”
Defensive ends Jaye Howard (hip injection) and Akiem Hicks (sore Achilles) did not participate, and defensive end Roy Robertson-Harris left practice with a concussion. Tight end Dion Sims and offensive lineman Tom Compton were both limited with shoulder bruises, though Fox said Sims could’ve participated had it been the regular season.
Linebacker Danny Trevathan participated in seven-on-seven work and, like offensive lineman Kyle Long, is slowly being worked back into practice.
“Whether or not they ever see a preseason game, don’t know at this point,” Fox said. “We’ll just continue to gain confidence and get them reps eventually in a ‘team’ setting to get them ready for the season.”