Setting the early expectations for Dontrelle Inman

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Dontrelle Inman arrived in Chicago late Wednesday night, and had a quick turnaround to going through his physical at 6 a.m. Thursday morning. The wide receiver, who the Bears acquired from the Los Angeles Chargers for a conditional 2018 seventh-round draft pick, could be excused for being exhausted after a whirlwind 24 hours. 

“A nice cup of coffee did me well,” Inman smiled. 

But now that the 6-foot-3, 198 pound Inman is here, can he make an immediate impact?

Inman didn’t practice on Thursday after his “pretty in-depth physical,” as coach John Fox described it. If he participates in Friday’s practice, that’ll be his only day of work within the Bears’ offense and with quarterback Mitchell Trubisky. That’s not a lot of time to get up to speed on the concepts of a new playbook, but Inman has had to be pliable since having five different receivers coaches and four different offensive coordinators during his college years at Virginia. 

“There’s really not an offense I haven’t been in,” Inman said. 

On the flip side of things, this will be an interesting test for a rookie quarterback in Trubisky working to get a new player used to what he wants and how he operates the offense. 

“I'm not really sure how this whole process works, a guy coming in in the middle of the season,” Trubisky said. “But I'm looking forward to it, I've heard he's a good player and I'll just help him any way we can. He's part of this team and family now. We're invested in all of our guys and we're going to get him as ready as we can as well as the other guys. So we've just got to continue to get better as a room, get better as a team and help him n any way I can with the playbook, out on the field, staying after routes, just develop that chemistry, develop that timing and I'm looking forward to it.”

Fox said Inman won’t definitely be ruled out for Sunday’s game against the New Orleans Saints because he didn’t practice on Thursday, though even if he does manage to be active, it’s unlikely the Bears would open up the full offense to him. He does have the ability to play both in the slot and outside, which could help get Kendall Wright on the field a little more. Inman only was targeted four times, catching two of those passes, with the Chargers this year, and hasn't been active the last two weeks. 

Inman’s ability to take the top off a defense -- which he showed with 58 catches for 810 yards in 2016 -- could help keep the Saints from stacking the box against Jordan Howard, which would benefit the offense as a whole even if he’s A) not on the field much and B) not targeted much, if at all. But that’s only if he plays, which at this point, is still an if. 

“I’m ready,” Inman said. “But it’s totally up to (the coaches). If I’m ready and they think I’m ready, then I’ll be out there.”

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