Christian Jones

Chicago Bears LB Mason Foster named a player to watch in training camp

Published Jun. 26, 2015 10:36 a.m. ET

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After a down season in which a shoulder injury limited him to 10 games played, linebacker Mason Foster is looking for a new start with the Chicago Bears. On a one-year, prove-it deal with the Bears, Hub Arkush of Chicago Football believes Foster can rediscover the impact he had with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2011-2013.

Foster shouldered the blame for his down season, according to Chicago Football.

"No, it was all on me," Foster told Chicago Football, refusing that it had anything to do with longtime Bears coach and current Bucs coach Lovie Smith. "You know it was just that shoulder kind of slowed me down and that was about it man, besides that it was on me and you’ve just got to keep getting better, keep learning, keep working and I definitely feel it made me better, just learning from that."

Now entering his first season with the Bears, Foster credits Chicago's competition at linebacker with bringing out the best in him.

"I love it. You’ve got to have good competition if you know what I mean. I would never want people around me that aren’t trying to win and that aren’t trying to compete at the highest level," Foster said, via Chicago Football. "You know good competition will always make you better so going against Christian [Jones], Shea [McClellin], [Jonathan] Brown, all these guys.

"[Sam] Acho, [David] Bass, everybody competing at a high level, you know you have to come with you’re 'A-game' every single day and it’s a good friendly competition, but we’ve got a lot of competition around here."

Arkush believes Foster can be a more impactful player as an inside linebacker in Vic Fangio's 3-4 scheme than he was as a 4-3 middle linebacker in Tampa Bay.

(h/t Chicago Football)

Photo Credit: Kim Klement/USA TODAY Sports

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