Bears cornerbacks coach Jon Hoke said cornerback Tyrique Stevenson, who was gesturing to fans at the start of a Hail Mary that was caught by the man he was supposed to be guarding, handled his benching well Sunday.
Not that it will be easy to totally move past his gaffe.
“He’s gonna live with that for a long time,” Hoke said. “We all know that. It is what it is. … Now we gotta keep moving forward, we gotta keep growing the man and keep growing the player.”
Hoke said both he and Stevenson took ownership — “I’m the one who has to make sure he’s locked in and focused,” he said — after the mistake.
Asked whether he’d start Sunday, both Hoke and defensive coordinator Eric Washington demurred — but both praised his play Sunday once Terell Smith left with an ankle injury.
Stevenson did not start against the Cardinals but wound up playing 79% of the Bears’ defensive snaps because of the injury.