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Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
4 Standouts from Day 8 of Chicago Bears training camp
Chicago Bears training camp is in full swing ahead of the 2025 regular season. Under new head coach Ben Johnson, the Bears are preparing a return to relevancy with important practices and meetings at Halas Hall. The starters, such as quarterback Caleb Williams, wide receivers Rome Odunze and DJ Moore, and defensive linemen Grady Jarrett and Montez Sweat, will hone their skills as they adjust to a new system. Rookies such as tight end Colston Loveland, receiver Luther Burden III, tackle Ozzy Trapilo, and defensive tackle Shemar Turner will look to hit the ground running ahead of their first season. And depth players like offensive lineman Doug Kramer, defensive end Dominique Robinson, and safety Jonathan Owens will try and hang on to a roster spot with competition nipping at their heels. Following every Bears' training camp practice, we at Bears Wire will highlight a select number of players who stood out during the day. Thursday's practice was the longest and most intense yet by design from Johnson. Many players rose to his challenge and made big plays: 1. WR Luther Burden III This is officially the Luther Burden week, as the rookie wide receiver keeps making play after play on the practice field. Burden followed up his best practice of camp with an even better outing. He caught passes all over the field, whether it was in 1-on-1 drills, 7-on-7s, or 11-on-11s. Burden was everywhere, catching short passes underneath and deep balls with tight coverage. As Marquee Sports Network's Scott Bair notes, Burden caught five passes, including two deep ones. The more reps Burden gets, the more comfortable he looks in the offense and with his quarterback. The leg injury that sidelined him for the first week doesn't seem to be a concern anymore, and Burden is ingratiating himself into the receiver rotation quickly. 2. WR Olamide Zaccheaus While Burden has been exploding as of late, veteran receiver Olamide Zaccheaus has been a steady option for the Bears offense throughout camp. Zaccheaus always seems to be in the right spot and has been a nice safety blanket during passing downs. He still has big-play potential, however. One of the best throws Williams made on Thursday was a scramble where he found Zaccheaus wide open downfield. The veteran was able to hurry into the end zone for the score. It was one of the biggest plays of camp for Zaccheaus, and he has been showing up every day since practices began. 3. QB Caleb Williams Williams is starting to string together solid practices, and by most accounts, he had his best one of camp on Thursday. The former No. 1 overall pick was spreading the ball all over, finding many different receivers to keep drives alive. Of course, Burden and Zaccheaus were heavily involved, but Williams also had good connections with Moore, Odunze, Cole Kmet, and Miles Boykin. As Greg Braggs Jr. of CHGO states, the quarterback was dialed in. It wasn't perfect, as the two-minute offense could have been better, but Williams is steadily improving under Johnson this camp after a shaky start. 4. DE Montez Sweat The offense was the story for much of Thursday's practice, but the defense still had their moments to shine. Namely, it was Montez Sweat who was breaking through the offensive line to put pressure on the quarterback. Sweat had a couple of instances where he beat the blocker to get into the backfield and would have come down with a sack near the end of practice. With the pads on, the defensive linemen can get more work in, and Sweat is doing just that against an improved offensive line. This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: 4 Standouts from Day 8 of Chicago Bears training camp
Yahoo
19 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Caleb Williams has best practice so far in Chicago Bears camp
As Caleb Williams gets more and more confident in the Chicago Bears' new offense, his young weapons are getting healthier. Colston Loveland is back making an impact. Luther Burden is getting accustomed to the offense. Caleb has all his offensive weapons in the building and they are helping him light it up in camp. It was reported that Caleb Williams, after struggling mightily in the first few training camp practices, followed a great Monday practice with his best practice in camp on Tuesday. Alyssa Barbieri gave her takeaways from training camp practice and Caleb's stellar performance in the latest Bears Wire piece. "Technically, this was the same takeaway from Monday. But it's once again true as quarterback Caleb Williams had another impressive practice with the pads on. According to Greg Braggs, "You can see how much he's working on the play action game and getting his head turned around to get his eyes where they need to be." Williams "wasn't perfect but you can see clear improvement." Williams nearly connected on a deep touchdown to wide receiver DJ Moore, but cornerback Kyler Gordon was called for defensive pass interference. Williams also continues to build his bond with receiver Rome Odunze and rookie tight end Colston Loveland. Before Tuesday's practice, head coach Ben Johnson talked about Williams' progress to this point, and he raved about the work the second-year quarterback is putting in -- and they're seeing the dividends on the field." Caleb Williams has all the weapons he needs to be successful this season, and he is connecting with all of them in practice with everyone healthy. It is really encouraging to see these players improve every single day starting with Caleb Williams. Ben Johnson knows exactly how to cultivate talent. He did it consecutive years in his tenure in Detroit. The Bears have the talent to be special offensively, and right now they are showing the beginning stages of an offense that can score a ton of points. Things are starting to look really exciting for Caleb Williams and the Bears' offense. This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: Caleb Williams has another great training camp practice with Bears
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Bears CB Jaylon Johnson indicates he's seeking another contract extension
Chicago Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson has established himself as one of the best in the NFL, which earned him a contract extension last offseason. But with cornerbacks resetting the market, including most recently with Sauce Gardner's deal, Johnson is eager to open up negotiations about another extension. Johnson inked a four-year, $110 million contract extension back in March 2024, which continues to be one of the most affordable in the league given the talent and contributions from Johnson at a premier position. During a recent appearance on "The Rich Eisen Show," Johnson indicated he wants to discuss another extension as cornerbacks continue to rack up big pay days. "Just seeing a lot of the other corners getting paid — I almost feel like we might have another discussion coming up here soon," Johnson said. "The market is moving, the market is moving. As long as I just keep being myself, keep playing at a high level, definitely going to have to be some more conversations coming up soon and really keep it long term. So, I'm looking forward to that." It certainly feels like the Bears are getting a steal with Johnson at $19 million per year, and there's no doubt that he deserves to be paid like a top cornerback. But Johnson just signed an extension last offseason, so this feels more like it's a discussion to happen next offseason. Despite Chicago's disappointing and frustrating 2024 season, Johnson remained one of the league's best cornerbacks with three takeaways (two interceptions, one forced fumble), eight pass breakups and recorded a career-high in tackles (53) and tackles for loss (7) in 17 games while earning his second straight Pro Bowl nod. Johnson was placed on the Non-Football Injury list to start training camp, and it's unclear whether he'll be cleared in time for the Bears' first practice on Wednesday. But there's little doubt that he'll once again serve as a cornerstone in new defensive coordinator Dennis Allen's defense. Follow Bears Wire on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Bears CB Jaylon Johnson seeking another contract extension
USA Today
20 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Caleb Williams has best practice so far in Chicago Bears camp
As Caleb Williams gets more and more confident in the Chicago Bears' new offense, his young weapons are getting healthier. Colston Loveland is back making an impact. Luther Burden is getting accustomed to the offense. Caleb has all his offensive weapons in the building and they are helping him light it up in camp. It was reported that Caleb Williams, after struggling mightily in the first few training camp practices, followed a great Monday practice with his best practice in camp on Tuesday. Alyssa Barbieri gave her takeaways from training camp practice and Caleb's stellar performance in the latest Bears Wire piece. "Technically, this was the same takeaway from Monday. But it's once again true as quarterback Caleb Williams had another impressive practice with the pads on. According to Greg Braggs, "You can see how much he's working on the play action game and getting his head turned around to get his eyes where they need to be." Williams "wasn't perfect but you can see clear improvement." Williams nearly connected on a deep touchdown to wide receiver DJ Moore, but cornerback Kyler Gordon was called for defensive pass interference. Williams also continues to build his bond with receiver Rome Odunze and rookie tight end Colston Loveland. Before Tuesday's practice, head coach Ben Johnson talked about Williams' progress to this point, and he raved about the work the second-year quarterback is putting in -- and they're seeing the dividends on the field." Caleb Williams has all the weapons he needs to be successful this season, and he is connecting with all of them in practice with everyone healthy. It is really encouraging to see these players improve every single day starting with Caleb Williams. Ben Johnson knows exactly how to cultivate talent. He did it consecutive years in his tenure in Detroit. The Bears have the talent to be special offensively, and right now they are showing the beginning stages of an offense that can score a ton of points. Things are starting to look really exciting for Caleb Williams and the Bears' offense.
USA Today
21 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Bears' Ben Johnson gives timeline on Jaylon Johnson's potential return
The Chicago Bears are in the middle of training camp, but they've been without arguably their best player on defense in cornerback Jaylon Johnson. The two-time Pro Bowler suffered a leg injury while training ahead of camp, which was expected to leave him sidelined for several weeks. Before Thursday's practice, head coach Ben Johnson provided an update on Johnson's potential return. He noted that the target date for Johnson is Week 1 against the Minnesota Vikings, but it's also still early in his rehab process. "I think there is a scenario where he will be ready for Week 1, and that is really the target day," Johnson said. "I know he is working hard and diligently to get there for that and with those types of injuries that he's got, you just never know. You never know. It's still early in that process, but I know he's attacking that rehab really well." It's not the most encouraging update, considering Johnson was originally supposed to miss a "few weeks," which indicated he would be back at camp at some point. But this latest timeline means he could miss closer to two months and puts his status for the start of the regular season in jeopardy. Follow Bears Wire on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram
