Wondering about a player, a past game or another issue involving the Bears? Senior writer Larry Mayer answers a variety of questions from fans on ChicagoBears.com.
What is the status of Zach Miller? I realize he probably won't play again, but saw that instead of cutting him, he is still on the roster. Are the Bears keeping him for some other reason?
Marco
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
From what I understand, the Bears would like to keep Zach Miller involved with the team in some capacity; it's just a matter of determining what role he's comfortable with filling moving forward. He was pretty hands-on last season while he continued to rehab from the devastating knee injury he sustained in 2017, attending practices, meetings and games, and I'm sure the Bears would welcome that arrangement again this year if that's what Zach wants to do. I know he really helped the team's young tight ends in 2018 and is close with quarterback Mitchell Trubisky. I wouldn't be surprised if we learned more about Zach's situation in the near future.
Why did the Bears sign kick returner Marvin Hall after they landed one of the top kick returners in the game in Cordarrelle Patterson?
Roger B.
Oregon
The Bears have had their eye on receiver Marvin Hall for a little while, primarily because of his blazing speed. The feeling at Halas Hall is that you can never have too many players on your roster with that important trait. Here's what general manager Ryan Pace had to say about Hall this week at the NFL owners meetings: "We've always admired his speed. He's such an explosive player. He's legit in the 4.3s and you can feel it on tape. Champ Kelly did a good job of kind of tracking him, so when he became available, Champ just stayed on top of that. It's just adding more speed. We talked about it over the offseason, adding explosive speed to our offense. He's just an intriguing player and he's still young." Hall, 25, spent the past two seasons with the Falcons, appearing in 24 games, all as a reserve, catching 12 passes for 209 yards and two touchdowns. The 5-10, 190-pounder served as Atlanta's primary kickoff returner last season, playing in all 16 contests and averaging 23.7 yards on 26 returns with a long of 53 yards.
