Bears 12.0

[Dresden]

Everyone knew Jay Cutler had diabetes, and openly discussed . If the player wants it to be a secret thats a different story.

Presuming what is going on is a protected health condition, and it sure sounds that way, then no Bears official can talk about it in any detail whatsoever legally. If Frazier publicly discloses it, I'd imagine they can then discuss what is publicly disclosed and can offer no information that is not already publicly disclosed, but would likely opt to say only super generic things around supporting him to ensure they don't get sued even in that case.

If he disclosed he had diabetes or something similar, then the talking heads can talk all they want about diabetes, but anyone who has confidential information still cannot share anything that is non public.

In this case, without more information, I find it highly unlikely there is any reason to be critical of the Bears. Probably whatever they found through extensive testing was not something they would have found pre-draft, and they also likely have no legal option to provide any detail other than what has already been provided. This feels like a "bad luck" situation while now following a legally defined process to me.

I’m not interested in the health condition or anything else in detail further than how it affects his availability going forward. I’m interested in the Bears draft processes around it, whatever the definition “it” is. Poles avoidance could be considered protective if you want to be generous. Or it could be self protective too. This is a GM that doesn’t have a stop sign, that’s proven.

Nothing of the kind has been "proven" about Poles. He stopped short of selecting Jalen Carter. And we don't know how many other players he stopped short of taking for one reason or another. It's one thing to be a little pessimistic, it's another to be condescending and one-sided in your pessimism.

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[TheJordanRule]

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Wait a minute. So we just lost Terrell Smith, Zah Frazier AND Brisker in a span of two days? None of 'em were even on the field. How'd that happen? What exactly are we doing at practice?

[TheJordanRule]

Is it possible that Jaquan is trying to force the FO's hand with a contract extension by doing this?

[nomorezorro]

no. a player got injured in practice. it's a thing that happens a lot

[TheJordanRule]

no. a player got injured in practice. it's a thing that happens a lot

Lol you're right. I'm too closely tied to this.

[fleet]

This should weigh over any other work focus questions that were nominally out there.

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[molepharmer]

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I'm a little surprised at Duvernay being released. Who is the punt and kickoff returner ? Burden can but didn't during the pre-season. They cut Alexander who returned a few.

[fleet]

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Wait a minute. So we just lost Terrell Smith, Zah Frazier AND Brisker in a span of two days? None of 'em were even on the field. How'd that happen? What exactly are we doing at practice?

If I was offered 8 guaranteed games of Brisker playing, by which precluded all other chances that he plays more than 8 games, I would take the 8 games in a heartbeat.

[Dresden]

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I'm a little surprised at Duvernay being released. Who is the punt and kickoff returner ? Burden can but didn't during the pre-season. They cut Alexander who returned a few.

So they cut Duvernay? He didn't see much if any action during the preseason. Was he hurt or something? They must figure they have enough return guys without him, and didn't really need him at WR with how well Zacheus and Walker have played. Didn't Jonathan Owen return a kickoff v. the Chiefs?

[Dresden]

Sounds like Duvernay will likely be re-signed.

[nomorezorro]

yeah, duvernay and daly were released because they're vested veterans and don't have to go through waivers, so you can work out a handshake deal to re-sign them without having to worry about another team claiming them.

just need to wait for the post-cutdown roster shuffling to be over (and maybe for the opening of the window to put more players on IR with a designation to return — you only get two at the initial roster cutdown, and they used them on homer and ogbongbemiga.)

[TheJordanRule]

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Wait a minute. So we just lost Terrell Smith, Zah Frazier AND Brisker in a span of two days? None of 'em were even on the field. How'd that happen? What exactly are we doing at practice?

If I was offered 8 guaranteed games of Brisker playing, by which precluded all other chances that he plays more than 8 games, I would take the 8 games in a heartbeat.

I feel you Fleet, but I'm praying that this isn't a repeat of last year. Brisker's a lynchpin on defense. We can't afford to have him miss another 10 games or whatever it was in 2024.

[GinWeary]

Last I heard was that he was around last week working out in some capacity. It doesn’t sound like something dire like cancer in that case, more like diabetes if we are to try and extend this tea leaf process on medical possibilities. At this point, Poles wants to be mysterious, and given his track record of incomplete homework with that mysterious statement, I can’t extend confidence that the Bears were as thorough as they could have been whatever it is. We’re just gonna find out someday. Meantime, I can envision a scenario where Al Harris pounded the table, Poles said cool, fait accompli. Because Poles has earned the suspicion.

I doubt he wants to be mysterious. He likely has a legal requirement to be mysterious because of HIPAA.

I do not think this is the case, as NFL organizations are not considered a "covered entity" (e.g., health insurance plans, doctors, or clearinghouse providers dealing with health data) to which HIPAA laws apply. I don't even think HIPAA laws apply to the team-employed medical staff. Similarly, TMZ is not a covered entity and can leak details on every celebrity's health conditions or imminent demise. Additionally, every team provides injury updates frequently; if HIPAA applied, we would not even get those.

The Bears are simply the employer with no obligation to HIPAA. The fact that they, as an employer, and every other sports organization, have direct access to a player's health reports is a unique situation and blurs some lines.

I am sure they are keeping this private, as you've said earlier, because it is a serious condition, and once the season starts, it will essentially be a non-story.

[jnrjr79]

Last I heard was that he was around last week working out in some capacity. It doesn’t sound like something dire like cancer in that case, more like diabetes if we are to try and extend this tea leaf process on medical possibilities. At this point, Poles wants to be mysterious, and given his track record of incomplete homework with that mysterious statement, I can’t extend confidence that the Bears were as thorough as they could have been whatever it is. We’re just gonna find out someday. Meantime, I can envision a scenario where Al Harris pounded the table, Poles said cool, fait accompli. Because Poles has earned the suspicion.

I doubt he wants to be mysterious. He likely has a legal requirement to be mysterious because of HIPAA.

I do not think this is the case, as NFL organizations are not considered a "covered entity" (e.g., health insurance plans, doctors, or clearinghouse providers dealing with health data) to which HIPAA laws apply. I don't even think HIPAA laws apply to the team-employed medical staff. Similarly, TMZ is not a covered entity and can leak details on every celebrity's health conditions or imminent demise. Additionally, every team provides injury updates frequently; if HIPAA applied, we would not even get those.

The Bears are simply the employer with no obligation to HIPAA. The fact that they, as an employer, and every other sports organization, have direct access to a player's health reports is a unique situation and blurs some lines.

I am sure they are keeping this private, as you've said earlier, because it is a serious condition, and once the season starts, it will essentially be a non-story.

It's generally true that an employer is not a covered entity, but they can become one if they administer their own health plans. My guess (and this is just a guess) is that to the extent the team's physicians are providing medical services, that's sufficient to trigger a HIPAA obligation. College training staffs also have to abide by HIPAA.

There's also a potential CBA angle to this. Players waive HIPAA rights to allow their medical info to be shared with teams (i.e. their employers). But the CBA can then impose HIPAA-like restrictions on what teams can disclose. Obviously, for injuries related to play on the field, it seems the CBA permits disclosure. But whatever is going on here may be something the team has an obligation to keep confidential, or the team may simply be doing it to honor the player's wish that they keep it mum.

[IliketheBullsNBearstoo]

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[nomorezorro]

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basically have to sign za'darius smith or jadeveon clowney now. (or...trade for a certain someone...)

[MissileMike]

Looks like the Packers added a decent pass rusher. That's a lot of money though.

[fleet]

Packers are my pick to win division now that they have Micah Packers

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[IliketheBullsNBearstoo]

Packers are my pick to win division now that they have Micah Packers

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This sucks.