Bears rookie wide receiver Luther Burden practiced for the first time in training camp on Monday and the second-round pick has some catching up to do.
Head coach Ben Johnson was asked at about the impact of the time Burden has missed because of the hamstring injury that also limited him during the team’s spring workouts.
“It shows up already,” Johnson said. “We were in the walk-through yesterday afternoon and the misalignments – we have to re-huddle, we have to start it all over again — so he’s a little bit behind right now.”
Reporters at Tuesday’s practice noted that Burden was pulled from a team drill after another alignment issue, so the rookie would seem to have a lot of work ahead of him in order to earn a spot in the lineup right out of the gate.
One of Ben Johnson’s most important charges as the first-year head coach of the Bears is developing quarterback Caleb Williams.
While there is a lot Williams still has to learn in a new offense with a new play-caller, Johnson told reporters on Tuesday that the young quarterback is making progress.
“I probably just see growth,” Johnson said, via Adam Hoge of allchgo.com. “He is so much more comfortable right now. Even yesterday — the walk-through — in terms of moving around. We go from gun, to under [center], to the tight ends are moving, the receivers are moving. We’re adding more every day.
“I told him this on the player day off: his process is really clean right now. I’m talking about how he’s preparing. I’m really pleased with it. He’s doing the work behind the scenes that no one else is seeing, and we’re starting to see the dividends being paid from it.”
Johnson has been fairly candid about Williams and how he’s progressed throughout the spring and summer. We’ll see how much last year’s No. 1 overall pick has truly made strides when games begin in September.
The Bears are preparing to be without rookie defensive tackle Shemar Turner for at least a month, Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune reports.
Turner, a second-round pick, injured his ankle near the end of the first training camp practice last Wednesday.
He will miss all three preseason games and could miss the start of the season, according to Biggs.
The former Texas A&M product withdrew from the Senior Bowl when medical tests discovered the stress fracture he had surgery to repair before the start of the 2024 season didn’t fully heal. Turner had a rod inserted into his leg during surgery, but he unknowingly ended up playing through the season with the injury after the bone didn’t fully heal.
Turner finished his Aggie career with 115 tackles, 24 tackles for loss, 10 sacks, one pass deflection and three forced fumbles.
Bears rookie wide receiver Luther Burden hit the field for the first time in training camp on Monday.
Burden injured his hamstring during the Bears’ organized team activities this spring and did not take part in the first four practice sessions of this summer’s camp, but reporters at Monday’s session noted that the second-round pick is participating in drills.
The Bears have DJ Moore and 2024 first-round pick Rome Odunze set for their top two receiver spots. Burden, Olamide Zaccheaus, Devin Duvernay, Tyler Scott, and Myles Boykin are among the other wideouts vying for snaps in the team’s offense.
Burden’s injury hampered his chances of earning those snaps, but he’ll spend the rest of camp working to show that he’s ready to play a significant role right off the bat.
Rome wasn’t built in a day and the Bears’ 2025 offense isn’t going to be built that quickly either.
That was the message from offensive coordinator Declan Doyle after Friday’s training camp practice. All eyes are on the Bears offense after the arrival of Doyle, head coach Ben Johnson, first-round tight end Colston Loveland, and several offensive linemen arrived to help quarterback Caleb Williams put up better results in his second NFL season. Those eyes have seen a lot of scuffling through the first three days of practice and Johnson pulled the first team from one drill, but Doyle said that is not any reason for alarm.
“No, I wouldn’t say that right now,” Doyle said, via Courtney Cronin of ESPN.com. “This whole thing is a progress, and for the next six weeks we’re going to get a ton of reps on all of these plays. We’re going to try to master these things. The first time you guys did anything, you know, you’re not quite a master at it yet. It takes a little bit of work and progression to get there.”
Doyle said it will be an issue for the coaching staff if the team repeats mistakes, but that the expectation is that it will take time for everything to run as smoothly as the team wants it to be come September. If that’s what happens, all of the summer errors will be chalked up to necessary growing pains in Chicago.
