Chicago Bears cornerback Tyrique Stevenson made headlines for the wrong reason following his actions in last season’s Hail Mary loss to the Washington Commanders.
Stevenson was spotted talking to the crowd right before the play and then, unable to get into position, tipped the ball to Commanders wide receiver Noah Brown for the game-winning touchdown.
Stevenson took accountability for his actions and role in that gut-wrenching loss, which kickstarted a 10-game losing streak, and that included apologizing to his teammates. Stevenson was benched for the first half of Chicago’s next game as punishment.
Following Wednesday’s minicamp practice, Stevenson was asked if head coach Ben Johnson or any new coaches have talked to him about the Hail Mary play from last season. And Stevenson had the perfect response.
“There’s really no conversation needed to be had,” Stevenson said. “I owned it. It was a mistake. I just happen to play a sport where my mistake is nationally televised and I feel like (now) in talking to me and going through the meetings, they can see that I already owned it up to it. I owned up to the guys from last year, (and now) nothing but effort and myself, and they see that I’m putting it in. So there’s really no conversation need to be had.”
Stevenson has been unable to live that play down, and it’ll no doubt be a focus when the Bears and Commanders face off on Monday Night Football on Oct. 13. But the only thing Stevenson can do is prove himself on the field, which he’ll have the opportunity to do under new defensive coordinator Dennis Allen.
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This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears CB Tyrique Stevenson had perfect response to Hail Mary question
Reporting by Alyssa Barbieri, Bears Wire / Bears Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
