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3 reasons you should watch the Chicago Bears tonight

I don't need any special incentive to watch NFL exhibition games, which more often than not are about as interesting as Omarosa Manigault Newman's opinion on, well … anything, and as exciting as finding out your fantasy football waiver claim on Paxton Lynch just came through.

It's my job.

So I thought my good deed for the day could be to give you a few reasons to join me in front of the television Saturday night.

Reason No. 1 is we should get our first looks at Allen Robinson and Danny Trevathan in game action since each was carted off the field last season with a serious knee injury.

These are two of the Bears' most important players, if the team is in fact going to be anything more than chum for the NFL's big dogs this season, and each has been rehabbed and brought along very slowly in camp.

Asked in Denver on Wednesday whether he would play Saturday, Trevathan replied, “More than likely,” and head coach Matt Nagy confirmed Robinson's participation by responding when asked about it, “He'll play a little bit, yep.”

Don't miss the first quarter as that is almost guaranteed to be the limit of this pair's participation, as well as that of quarterback Mitch Trubisky, which brings me to Reason No. 2.

Trubisky was visibly upset with his and the first offense's limited performance in their first game action at Cincinnati last week and quite animated when we asked him Thursday about the importance of Saturday's game.

“One-hundred percent. Every snap matters,” he said. “Every practice rep, every preseason game matters.

“We're coming out here and competing every day, and we're always trying to get better. No matter what it is, if it's on the practice field, if I'm in the backyard by myself, if it's a preseason game, we're trying to get better and we're trying to move the football.

“That's what great players do. That's what great teams do. We're trying to get some momentum and everybody do our job and execute the offense.”

I would expect Nagy to allow Trubisky to open things up a bit early Saturday night and give him a targeted effort to get the ball to Robinson to see how close to 100 percent the wide receiver is. The Bears also will see if Kevin White can make meaningful contributions to this offense and look to involve Anthony Miller, who has been the most exciting player in camp so far.

Reason No. 3 is the Bears have decided Cody Whitehair is going to be the opening-day center, but he has been in a real slump trying to complete shotgun snaps, and it's going to be very important for us to see him be error-free in Denver.

We should also expect to see more extended action at center for rookie second-rounder James Daniels, and he is going to have to prove he can be a reliable backup for Whitehair if he wants to be active on Sundays the first few weeks of the season.

The Broncos will provide his most difficult test yet.

Your fourth reason is pass rush, pass rush, pass rush. The Bears must have it, and we're still not sure where it's coming from.

It would be great to see Leonard Floyd plant Case Keenum just once, for Isaiah Irving to be healthy and as active as he was in Canton, and for Kylie Fitts to prove he can finish.

My last incentive should keep you watching even late in the game.

I love the Bears' trio of Jordan Howard, Tarik Cohen and Benny Cunningham, but if Howard can't go at any time, neither Cohen nor Cunningham is suited to be a lead back.

The under-the-radar signing of Knile Davis last Saturday fascinates me, I am deeply intrigued by Ryan Nall and find Taquan Mizzell quite uninspiring.

Their battle for the fourth running back spot — assuming the Bears carry four — is worth focusing on and could prove critical at some point in the season.

• Hub Arkush, the executive editor of Pro Football Weekly, can be reached at harkush@profootballweekly.com or on Twitter @Hub_Arkush.

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