Head coach Matt Nagy is not in the mood to be diplomatic these days. At least not to his usual extent. This isn’t a big surprise. His team is 4-5 and fighting for their playoff lives. So he has no time for players who are willing to sacrifice the necessary time and energy to make this team better. One such name he seems to have lost all patience for is tight end Adam Shaheen. The former 2nd round pick came into 2019 with such high hopes.
Yet once again he found a way to disappoint, first with a back injury in training camp and then almost complete invisibility on offense through the first half of the season. It got to such a point that Nagy decided there was no longer any reason to keep trying. Shaheen was made a healthy scratch for the game against the Detroit Lions, sending a loud and clear signal that the coaches are tired of waiting for him to figure things out.
If people weren’t certain about Nagy’s feelings on the subject, they only had to watch his latest press conference on Friday. When asked about Shaheen’s injury status, the man couldn’t have seemed less interested in talking about it if he tried. Clearly the coach has no further plans for the guy and is seeking solutions elsewhere.
Nagy is done giving Adam Shaheen more chances
Former punter Pat McAfee had a great saying recently. He said when a coach shouts at a player during games or in practice, it doesn’t mean he hates that player. It means he thinks that player is capable of being better and feels he must shout to get his attention. It’s only when a coach becomes disinterested in a player that it’s time to truly be considered. Once a coach has quit on you, then your time with a team is pretty much over.
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It seems things have reached that point with Shaheen. The tight end has wasted his last chance in Chicago. The constant health setbacks and the clear lack of desire in his playing style, along with rumors of work ethic problems leads one to believe that his window is closed. He will almost certainly be released next offseason. Another in an unfortunately long list of disappointing high draft choices by GM Ryan Pace, who has struggled for years at finding any sort of consistent play at tight end.
