Chicago Bears coach Nagy says little about Edwards' assault charge

Not surprisingly, Bears head coach Matt Nagy didn't have much to say Wednesday about Mario Edwards Jr.'s assault charge in North Carolina, which stemmed from an incident with a woman on Oct. 17.

Officers responded to a call at the Hilton Charlotte Uptown just after midnight.

Both Edwards, the Bears' 26-year-old defensive end, and a 28-year-old woman were listed as the victim on the police report.

Edwards played in the game against the Panthers the next day and has continued to play and practice since.

"There's not much more for me to add because of the legal situation," Nagy said. "Clearly we take these matters very seriously. The authorities were involved that evening and we were immediately aware. We've been in lock step with the NFL on this the entire way."

The NFL is reviewing the matter and could fine Edwards for allowing someone into his hotel room. Coronavirus protocols say that players, coaches and staff may not interact with others outside the team while on the road.

The Bears also have their own policy. Nagy would not discuss that policy but did say the team dealt with Edwards' violation "internally."

Nagy was not asked if the Bears ever considered suspending Edwards.

Meanwhile, the Bears were forced to push Wednesday's practice back four hours because their batch of coronavirus tests never made it to the testing facility. Nagy said it was a "courier issue."

All tests were negative.

Due to the snafu, Nagy elected to put his players through a light walk-through practice.

The situation is less than ideal - especially with the 6-7 Bears playing at 6-7 Minnesota in a must-win affair - but Nagy was proud of the way everyone responded to yet another curve ball in 2020. He said there were text messages, phone calls and Zoom meetings "going on all over the place."

"They didn't flinch," Nagy said.

The practice audible doesn't come without its headaches, however. Players, coaches and staff all have very defined routines on game weeks. It's especially tough on coaches, who spend hours formulating each day's plans.

"It's not just like you wave a magic wand and you go out and you practice," Nagy said. "So ... if we adjust at the last second, that throws off our schedule as coaches - really not for what we're doing today, but for what we're doing tomorrow. And then a domino effect for Friday.

"But our coaches have been great."