Bears defensive lineman Mitch Unrein spent his day off Sunday watching on TV as his wife, Corey Cogdell-Unrein, won a bronze medal in women's trap shooting in the Olympics in Brazil.
"It was stressful, but it was fun," Unrein said. "Once she actually had the bronze medal sealed up I could breathe a sigh of relief. She called me and we were just really ecstatic. I knew all the work she put in the last four years and for it to pay off for her, our prayers were answered."
Cogdell-Unrein also won a bronze medal at the 2008 Olympics in Bejing and competed without medaling in the 2012 games in London. She was determined to make amends for 2012 and did just that by defeating Spain's Fatima Galvez in a shoot-off for third place Sunday.
"She put the work in and I saw it every single day," Unrein said. "She would get up in the morning and go train, sometimes in the afternoon, twice a day. I knew how much this meant to her, and she's been shooting so well the last couple years that I knew if she went out there and just kept her composure she could do it. Unfortunately, she didn't get the gold, but hey, we'll take the bronze. As long as she's coming home with some hardware, it's pretty awesome."
Unrein was touched by the support he received from his Bears teammates, who posed for a photo before their Family Fest practice Saturday wearing "Team Unrein" t-shirts that kicker Robbie Gould had created.
"It's so cool to have teammates like that that support one another," Unrein said. "Robbie is a leader on this team and he made a great choice of doing that. I really think that it brings us closer as a team when you have situations like that."
Moving on: Two days after sustaining a season-ending knee injury, second-year center Hroniss Grasu was back at training camp on crutches Monday, seemingly in good spirits.
"I think once you kind of get over that initial shock of the loss of a season and you kind of get those feelings out of that, he's such a good guy that mentally he's moving on," said quarterback Jay Cutler. "That's what you have to do, you have to just move on. You can't change what happened. I wish we could, but we can't. He's putting everything he has into rehab to get ready for next year."
Grasu was injured during Saturday's practice while running downfield to block on a screen pass.
"Anytime you see a guy like that go down, it's tough," said rookie guard Cody Whitehair. "It's hard to see, especially with me being so comfortable with Hroniss. But that's the risk we take. We just have to play through it. His head's in the right place. He's willing to do whatever it takes to get back on the field and we hope for a fast recovery for him."
**
Check out the photos from Monday's training camp practice in Bourbonnais, IL.
Stepping up:** First-round draft pick Leonard Floyd, an outside linebacker from Georgia, continues to show steady improvement on the practice field.
"He's everything that we thought he would be, so I'm very impressed," said coach John Fox. "He's learning well. It's not perfect yet; like any rookie they're going to make some errors. But I like his athleticism and like what he brings to the table. He'll be a big part of us."
A day at camp: In Monday's practice, safety Harold Jones-Quartey alertly intercepted a pass that deflected off running back Jeremy Langford. … Quarterback Connor Shaw made a perfect throw to connect with running back Senorise Perry down the right sideline, beating linebacker John Timu. … Defensive end Jonathan Bullard penetrated into the backfield and clotheslined running back Ka'Deem Carey an instant after he was handed the ball.