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You can’t blame the Chicago Bears for taking a conservative approach to their roster for Saturday’s preseason opener against the Cleveland Browns at Soldier Field.
Ten players were absent at the beginning of practice Thursday, and two missed part of practice. Ben Johnson huddled with his coaching staff and said the Bears will “end up sitting a number of our starters on both sides of the ball.”
Quarterback Caleb Williams has been ruled out for sure, and other big names are highly unlikely to take the field, either because of injuries or out of an abundance of caution.
Still, there are a lot of position battles and pecking orders to be sorted out while facing another team that won’t be pulling punches on the field.
“We just want to see guys compete,” Johnson said. “We want to see guys playing fast. It’s all of it. It’s run game. It’s pass game. … We want to see consistency, level of play and see guys go out there and compete to win the game.”
Here are 10 players to watch Saturday (noon, Fox-32).
Bagent will start and is expected to play the first half. He hasn’t needed to start a regular-season game since 2023. Bagent played in all three preseason games last year, completing 67% of his passes for 511 yards with five touchdowns and one interception.
“I’m of the mind that he’s probably one of the best 32 (quarterbacks) of the NFL,” Johnson said of Bagent over the offseason. “His preseason tape over the last couple years has probably confirmed that, in my opinion.”
Saturday will be another chance for Bagent to do just that.
Amegadjie will start at left tackle and share playing time with veteran Jedrick Wills Jr. With Braxton Jones sidelined by a knee injury, Amegadjie and Wills have shared the reps at left tackle.
Amegadjie has just one regular-season start in his career. The 2024 third-round draft pick missed nearly all of last season with an elbow injury.
“I’ve seen improvement from last year, and yet there’s still glimpses of where we need the consistency to be a little bit better,” Johnson said.
Beyond D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai, the Bears have veterans Roschon Johnson and Brittain Brown and undrafted rookie Coleman Bennett. Johnson, mainly a special teams player, has looked rejuvenated and even has worked in the passing game.
But there’s no denying Ahmed has stood out in camp, especially as a pass catcher.
The seventh-year veteran has a previous connection with Bears running backs coach Eric Studesville, his position coach during a four-year stint with the Miami Dolphins (2020-23).
“The offense is different,” Studesville said. “Some of the plays are very similar, almost the same exactly in a lot of ways. But it’s just adjusting our terminology. … Just like I have to adjust on some of my coaching points and stuff, he’s adjusting as a runner.”
Walker could find himself elevated from fourth on the depth chart to WR1 for the preseason opener.
Luther Burden III (groin) and Zavion Thomas (knee) left practice early Saturday and Sunday, respectively, and have been nonparticipants since. Veterans Rome Odunze and Kalif Raymond aren’t likely to play either.
Walker has gotten work with Williams and the first team after posting six catches for 87 yards with two touchdowns in nine games (one start) last season.
“Jahdae is one of my good friends since he’s been here,” Williams said. “I’m excited for him to be able to take the next step, and the next step is up to him.”
A Barrington native, Miller signed with the Bears after a tryout in May. The eighth-year veteran brings versatility and experience at wide receiver and on special teams. Miller won a Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2020 season and most recently played for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
He’s trying to carve out a role for himself in a crowded receiver room.
“It’s going to be a really good offense,” Miller said. “Obviously with Ben at the head of it and Caleb throwing the ball, you’re not going to get much of a better combination than that. So there’s going to be opportunities to be had if you can be on the roster. So that’s the goal.”
Davis has played in only three NFL games and has yet to record a catch, but he has been hauling in passes all over the field in training camp.
“A guy like Kaden Davis has made plays almost every single day,” Ben Johnson said.
Davis has been a favorite target of Bagent with the second team and to some extent of Case Keenum with the threes.
“(He’s) picking up the offense very well, doesn’t ask a lot of questions, is at where he’s supposed to be (on the field), when he’s supposed to be there,” said Bagent, who ended practice Thursday with a touchdown bomb to Davis. “You mesh those things together and it usually ends pretty well, which is why we’ve seen him have success before.”
The Bears probably will want to get their rookies at least some preseason playing time, even those who are expected to be contributors right away. Roush certainly fits that mold.
The third-round pick out of Stanford has seen plenty of reps with the starters in camp, although he’s still taking a back seat to Cole Kmet and Colston Loveland. With those two unlikely to play Saturday, Roush could take on an outsized role with Bagent against the Browns.
He’s a feisty one. On Aug. 4, van den Berg slammed undrafted rookie offensive lineman Caden Barnett to the ground, whipping his defensive teammates into a lather.
Coaches have praised van den Berg’s mean streak and rewarded him with first-team reps, but the rookie admits he has a lot of refinement ahead of him.
“I’d say in college I was just trying to explode out as violent as possible,” he said. “I’ve got to slow down a little bit now to let my technique and fundamentals” catch up.
Center Garrett Bradbury added that van den Berg plays with “unbelievable pad level.”
Muhammad is another rookie who could find himself called upon soon, thanks to the growing number of injuries in the secondary. He has worked at both outside corner and nickel and even has received some reps with the starters.
Muhammad could see action at both spots Saturday.
“You just try not to give him too much,” defensive backs coach Al Harris said. “We have a complex scheme, so you’ve got to give them the details, but also you’ve got to remember that you want them to be functional in both spots.”
Starting free safety Coby Bryant will miss between four and six months while recovering from knee surgery.
The injury thrust Lewis into the role, but he struggled with the abrupt move from nickel to safety. The Bears signed 10th-year veteran Xavier Woods on Aug. 7 to give themselves flexibility.
“He is learning a lot of positions right now,” assistant defensive backs/safeties coach Matt Giordano said of Lewis. “He’s our Swiss Army knife basically, where he can play safety, play nickel, he’s learned dime. … There’s growing pains learned with that many positions.”
Giordano said Lewis has the right attitude and gets extra coaching after practice.
“It just takes time,” he said.
Continue reading...
Ten players were absent at the beginning of practice Thursday, and two missed part of practice. Ben Johnson huddled with his coaching staff and said the Bears will “end up sitting a number of our starters on both sides of the ball.”
Quarterback Caleb Williams has been ruled out for sure, and other big names are highly unlikely to take the field, either because of injuries or out of an abundance of caution.
Still, there are a lot of position battles and pecking orders to be sorted out while facing another team that won’t be pulling punches on the field.
“We just want to see guys compete,” Johnson said. “We want to see guys playing fast. It’s all of it. It’s run game. It’s pass game. … We want to see consistency, level of play and see guys go out there and compete to win the game.”
Here are 10 players to watch Saturday (noon, Fox-32).
QB Tyson Bagent
Bagent will start and is expected to play the first half. He hasn’t needed to start a regular-season game since 2023. Bagent played in all three preseason games last year, completing 67% of his passes for 511 yards with five touchdowns and one interception.
“I’m of the mind that he’s probably one of the best 32 (quarterbacks) of the NFL,” Johnson said of Bagent over the offseason. “His preseason tape over the last couple years has probably confirmed that, in my opinion.”
Saturday will be another chance for Bagent to do just that.
LT Kiran Amegadjie
Amegadjie will start at left tackle and share playing time with veteran Jedrick Wills Jr. With Braxton Jones sidelined by a knee injury, Amegadjie and Wills have shared the reps at left tackle.
Amegadjie has just one regular-season start in his career. The 2024 third-round draft pick missed nearly all of last season with an elbow injury.
“I’ve seen improvement from last year, and yet there’s still glimpses of where we need the consistency to be a little bit better,” Johnson said.
RB Salvon Ahmed
Beyond D’Andre Swift and Kyle Monangai, the Bears have veterans Roschon Johnson and Brittain Brown and undrafted rookie Coleman Bennett. Johnson, mainly a special teams player, has looked rejuvenated and even has worked in the passing game.
But there’s no denying Ahmed has stood out in camp, especially as a pass catcher.
The seventh-year veteran has a previous connection with Bears running backs coach Eric Studesville, his position coach during a four-year stint with the Miami Dolphins (2020-23).
“The offense is different,” Studesville said. “Some of the plays are very similar, almost the same exactly in a lot of ways. But it’s just adjusting our terminology. … Just like I have to adjust on some of my coaching points and stuff, he’s adjusting as a runner.”
WR Jahdae Walker
Walker could find himself elevated from fourth on the depth chart to WR1 for the preseason opener.
Luther Burden III (groin) and Zavion Thomas (knee) left practice early Saturday and Sunday, respectively, and have been nonparticipants since. Veterans Rome Odunze and Kalif Raymond aren’t likely to play either.
Walker has gotten work with Williams and the first team after posting six catches for 87 yards with two touchdowns in nine games (one start) last season.
“Jahdae is one of my good friends since he’s been here,” Williams said. “I’m excited for him to be able to take the next step, and the next step is up to him.”
WR Scotty Miller
A Barrington native, Miller signed with the Bears after a tryout in May. The eighth-year veteran brings versatility and experience at wide receiver and on special teams. Miller won a Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2020 season and most recently played for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
He’s trying to carve out a role for himself in a crowded receiver room.
“It’s going to be a really good offense,” Miller said. “Obviously with Ben at the head of it and Caleb throwing the ball, you’re not going to get much of a better combination than that. So there’s going to be opportunities to be had if you can be on the roster. So that’s the goal.”
WR Kaden Davis
Davis has played in only three NFL games and has yet to record a catch, but he has been hauling in passes all over the field in training camp.
“A guy like Kaden Davis has made plays almost every single day,” Ben Johnson said.
Davis has been a favorite target of Bagent with the second team and to some extent of Case Keenum with the threes.
“(He’s) picking up the offense very well, doesn’t ask a lot of questions, is at where he’s supposed to be (on the field), when he’s supposed to be there,” said Bagent, who ended practice Thursday with a touchdown bomb to Davis. “You mesh those things together and it usually ends pretty well, which is why we’ve seen him have success before.”
TE Sam Roush
The Bears probably will want to get their rookies at least some preseason playing time, even those who are expected to be contributors right away. Roush certainly fits that mold.
The third-round pick out of Stanford has seen plenty of reps with the starters in camp, although he’s still taking a back seat to Cole Kmet and Colston Loveland. With those two unlikely to play Saturday, Roush could take on an outsized role with Bagent against the Browns.
DT Jordan van den Berg
He’s a feisty one. On Aug. 4, van den Berg slammed undrafted rookie offensive lineman Caden Barnett to the ground, whipping his defensive teammates into a lather.
Coaches have praised van den Berg’s mean streak and rewarded him with first-team reps, but the rookie admits he has a lot of refinement ahead of him.
“I’d say in college I was just trying to explode out as violent as possible,” he said. “I’ve got to slow down a little bit now to let my technique and fundamentals” catch up.
Center Garrett Bradbury added that van den Berg plays with “unbelievable pad level.”
CB Malik Muhammad II
Muhammad is another rookie who could find himself called upon soon, thanks to the growing number of injuries in the secondary. He has worked at both outside corner and nickel and even has received some reps with the starters.
Muhammad could see action at both spots Saturday.
“You just try not to give him too much,” defensive backs coach Al Harris said. “We have a complex scheme, so you’ve got to give them the details, but also you’ve got to remember that you want them to be functional in both spots.”
S/NB Cam Lewis
Starting free safety Coby Bryant will miss between four and six months while recovering from knee surgery.
The injury thrust Lewis into the role, but he struggled with the abrupt move from nickel to safety. The Bears signed 10th-year veteran Xavier Woods on Aug. 7 to give themselves flexibility.
“He is learning a lot of positions right now,” assistant defensive backs/safeties coach Matt Giordano said of Lewis. “He’s our Swiss Army knife basically, where he can play safety, play nickel, he’s learned dime. … There’s growing pains learned with that many positions.”
Giordano said Lewis has the right attitude and gets extra coaching after practice.
“It just takes time,” he said.
Continue reading...
