Last week Bears coach Lovie Smith said newly acquired DT Brian Price needed to get on the field as quickly as possible because "our train is rolling."
When Price got on the field for the first time Tuesday, that train seemed to roll right over him.
Price got pancaked on one of the first plays in his first scrimmage, then got up and was knocked back to the turf on the same play from behind. He later got flattened again and got up limping, but quickly returned to practice. In pass rush-blocking drills, his helmet was knocked off on a play.
"It’s going to take a while," Smith said. "As much as anything, we wanted to get Brian into the mix to just let him see how it feels to be a Chicago Bear practicing. So we made that step. He set the bar today, and we’ll hopefully make progress from there."
When Price did play in scrimmage, he lined up with backups facing mostly backup offensive linemen, although he did have a few snaps against first-team blockers.
Price is expected to challenge Henry Melton for more time at the three-technique and play the role Amobi Okoye had last season when he had four sacks for the Bears.
Okoye left in free agency for Tampa Bay and a $2 million, one-year deal. So essentially it's a swap of DTs since the Bears got Price from Tampa Bay for what is likely a seventh-round draft pick. The Bears believe Price's upside is higher because it's only his third year in the league, and Okoye is in his sixth year.
Follow Bears reporter Gene Chamberlain on Twitter @CBSSportsNFLCHI.
