LAKE FOREST, Ill. ā Most NFL players wouldnāt take five days off during the peak of job battles at training camp.
Then again, most NFL players arenāt Chicago Bears safety Jonathan Owens. The sixth-year backup is taking the time away to watch his wife, Simone Biles, compete for the U.S. gymnastics team at the Paris Olympics.
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āMan, itās crazy,ā Owens said. āItās like everyoneās a gymnastics fan now. People are asking me questions, because you might be walking around the building and see a commercial with her up there, so itās just crazy.ā
The support goes right up the ladder from the coaching staff to management. Owensā trip has been in the works since he signed a two-year contract as a free agent in March.
āIt was something me and my agent talked about when we went in and I signed with the team,ā said Owens, who signed with the Bears after a season with Green Bay. āThe Olympics coming up and who my wife is, that was just something ... it was all respectful. We went to them and just asked, āWe would really appreciate it if he could go and support his wife,ā and they were really cool about it.
āFirst-class organization. I just want to thank them so much even allowing me to go over and do that. I canāt wait to be able to support her, and I know my family and my wife, she really appreciates it.ā
Biles won the all-around gold medal and two other golds at the Rio Olympics in 2016, and she's a six-time world champion. She and the Americans are favored to win the team competition.
If Biles medals, it will be the third straight Summer Games in which a Bears player's family member won a medal. In 2021, Robert Quinn's sister Jasmine Camacho-Quinn won gold in the 100-meter hurdles for Puerto Rico. In 2016, Corey Cogdell-Unrein, the wife of Bears defensive end Mitch Unrein, won bronze in women's trap shooting.
Coach Matt Eberflus has no qualms about losing Owens for five days.
āJust because we respect the Olympics,ā Eberflus said. āThat is a big deal. And heās just supporting the one he loves the most.
āAnd I think thatās so cool that he gets to do that. We welcome that and itās gonna be awesome. Go USA.ā
There apparently is no concern from teammates who are competing for jobs while Owens is allowed to leave camp. Heāll be gone from Monday night until Aug. 3.
āGuys are just being super supportive, you know?ā Owens said. āItās super dope. Theyāre asking, bring some souvenirs back. Thatās what theyāre asking.ā
Owens and Biles married last year. This is his first chance to see Biles compete in person at the Olympics because the 2020 games were postponed a year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and then there were no fans allowed at Tokyo venues.
āI was in training camp still, but I would wake up at like 4 or 5 in the morning before I had to go to practice so that I could see her events and everything,ā Owens said.
Owens will try to stay in touch with the Bears throughout his trip.
āThe coaches are doing an amazing job,ā he said āSo theyāre gonna make sure ā every meeting is recorded, so Iāll be getting all the meetings, all the installs and everything. So I wonāt miss a beat. Iāll make sure Iām working out over there and make sure I come back in good shape.ā
Instead of waking up to watch his wife in the Olympics like last time, he plans to watch the Bears in the Hall of Fame Game on Aug. 1 at Canton, Ohio, against Houston.
In Paris, heāll be like any USA Gymnastics follower. Heāll be on the edge of his seat watching.
āOh absolutely, because itās the person you love most and you see them up there in a position where someone could get hurt, and you know, you care about her, so itās always super nerve-wracking,ā he said. āLetās say Iām on the field and she sees me hit somebody, or take a hard hit, or something. Itās like a gasp of air.
āSo, like, when sheās on the floor or the beam, I just know how long you work for it and how much you put into it. So when you see someone out there, I donāt know, I canāt describe it. Weāre just out there holding our breath.ā
The couple still has a house in Houston, where Biles trains. Owens played for the Texans earlier in his career. The plan is for Biles to join Owens in Chicago after a post-Olympics gymnastics tour for the U.S. team.
Theyāve been apart while she was training and he left for training camp.
The thing heās looking forward to most?
āSeeing her, man,ā he said. āI havenāt seen her in about three weeks now, so just seeing and just obviously, Iāve never been over to Paris so thatās pretty cool to say that Iāve been able to go.
āBut just seeing her and being able to see her do her thing. Thatās really what Iām happy for.ā
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl