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The Chicago Bears were back at Halas Hall for the final phase of their offseason program with mandatory minicamp on Tuesday, where they conducted the first of three practices this week.
The Bears were in mid-training camp form amid humid weather conditions that are expected to continue for the duration of minicamp. It's good practice for the summer. Overall, the day belonged to the defense, where cornerback Jaylon Johnson and defensive end Montez Sweat made their presence known, but the offense still made plays.
Let's recap what went down during the first day of Bears minicamp. From Jaylon Johnson returning to form to newcomers making plays to injury updates, here's what we learned from Tuesday's practice.
Perhaps the most important takeaway of this three-day minicamp is not to get too concerned with what's happening during these non-padded practices in June. Case in point, Tuesday's session was all defense and therefore a rough go for quarterback Caleb Williams, according to Clay Harbor, who had a "tougher" but "not terrible" day. Williams "made some nice throws" but also missed Colston Loveland for a "potential explosive" play.
Williams also threw two interceptions (both to cornerback Jaylon Johnson). According to Zack Pearson, one of those came during the two-minute drill on what appeared to be a miscommunication with free-agent addition Kalif Raymond, who admitted he's still getting used to this new Ben Johnson offense. Just another reason not to overreact to practices when game action is still months away.
The consensus from Tuesday's practice was that cornerback Jaylon Johnson was the best player on the field, according to Adam Jahns. Gordon was part of a defense that dominated the afternoon, and he had two interceptions of quarterback Caleb Williams during team drills. According to Mark Carman, Johnson was "right there covering Burden" and Clay Harbor added that Johnson "covered well throughout." That's certainly an encouraging sign from the former Pro Bowler that he's healthy and gearing up for a return to form in 2026.
The Bears have no shortage of weapons who are making waves during the offseason program, including last year's rookie standouts Colston Loveland and Luther Burden III. But there are a pair of newcomers in veteran Kalif Raymond and rookie Zavion Thomas who flashed during Tuesday's practice.
Before Tuesday's session, head coach Ben Johnson sang Raymond's praises, and he proceeded to impress on the field. According to Mark Carman, Raymond "flashed all over the field." Clay Harbor added that Raymond made a lot of plays. "Quick in and out of breaks, great burst, and put (rookie Dillon) Thieneman in a blender once." The only mark against him was an apparent miscommunication with quarterback Caleb Williams during the two-minute drill, which resulted in one of Jaylon Johnson's two interceptions on the afternoon.
Meanwhile, Thomas "keeps flashing," according to Clay Harbor, and that's been a popular sentiment throughout rookie minicamp, OTAs and now veteran minicamp. "Smooth routes, good ball skills, quick-screen TD, and that 4.2 speed showed up." According to Zack Pearson, Thomas came up big during the two-minute drill with the second-team offense, where he "(took) a short pass for a touchdown" where "the speed was on display and real." Mark Carman also noted another highlight where Thomas "showed off 4.2 speed on (a) screen pass from Tyson Bagent to the house."
While I warned you to not to read too much into minicamp, that was more performance-focused than anything. When it comes to nickel cornerback Kyler Gordon and his lack of availability, there is very much cause for concern. Gordon reportedly is nursing another soft tissue injury (as previously reported by Brad Biggs), and it held him out of Tuesday's first session.
Gordon missed 14 games and had two stints on injured reserve last season amid a slew of soft tissue issues including groin, hamstring and calf injuries. It's clear that Gordon's lack of availability has frustrated Ben Johnson, and the fact that he still isn't on the practice field is concerning.
“This spring was going to be a springboard for us to get going the right direction and we're still working through that," Johnson said last week during OTAs. "We're still trying to get that availability piece going. We know he is a good player when he is out there, but trust level's a huge thing for this team, for this coaching staff, for the locker room. You can only develop that trust by being available.”
To make matters worse on the injury front, the Bears lost two notable defenders to injury during Tuesday's practice. Cornerback Tyrique Stevenson and linebacker D'Marco Jackson both exited during the first minicamp session. According to Brad Biggs, Stevenson appeared to suffer a foot or ankle injury that doesn't seem serious. Meanwhile, Jackson exited near the end of practice.
Here's a full list of players who didn't participate on Tuesday (via Zack Pearson): Gordon, offensive linemen Ozzy Trapilo and Jedrick Wills, defensive linemen Shemar Turner, Neville Gallimore and Jordan Lynch, linebackers Noah Sewell, Ruben Hypolite and Keyshaun Elliott and defensive back Cam Lewis.
There is good news on the injury front as linebacker T.J. Edwards and defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo both participated in team drills for the first time this spring, according to Sean Hammond. Edwards is coming off a fractured fibula suffered in January's wild-card win over the Green Bay Packers. Meanwhile, Odeyingbo is recovering from a torn Achilles in a Week 9 win over the Cincinnati Bengals. According to Clay Harbor, Edwards was "moving well."
This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Chicago Bears minicamp: Takeaways from Day 1
Continue reading...
The Bears were in mid-training camp form amid humid weather conditions that are expected to continue for the duration of minicamp. It's good practice for the summer. Overall, the day belonged to the defense, where cornerback Jaylon Johnson and defensive end Montez Sweat made their presence known, but the offense still made plays.
Let's recap what went down during the first day of Bears minicamp. From Jaylon Johnson returning to form to newcomers making plays to injury updates, here's what we learned from Tuesday's practice.
Don't read too much into minicamp
Perhaps the most important takeaway of this three-day minicamp is not to get too concerned with what's happening during these non-padded practices in June. Case in point, Tuesday's session was all defense and therefore a rough go for quarterback Caleb Williams, according to Clay Harbor, who had a "tougher" but "not terrible" day. Williams "made some nice throws" but also missed Colston Loveland for a "potential explosive" play.
Williams also threw two interceptions (both to cornerback Jaylon Johnson). According to Zack Pearson, one of those came during the two-minute drill on what appeared to be a miscommunication with free-agent addition Kalif Raymond, who admitted he's still getting used to this new Ben Johnson offense. Just another reason not to overreact to practices when game action is still months away.
Jaylon Johnson has returned to his Pro Bowl form
The consensus from Tuesday's practice was that cornerback Jaylon Johnson was the best player on the field, according to Adam Jahns. Gordon was part of a defense that dominated the afternoon, and he had two interceptions of quarterback Caleb Williams during team drills. According to Mark Carman, Johnson was "right there covering Burden" and Clay Harbor added that Johnson "covered well throughout." That's certainly an encouraging sign from the former Pro Bowler that he's healthy and gearing up for a return to form in 2026.
Kalif Raymond and Zavion Thomas are making plays
The Bears have no shortage of weapons who are making waves during the offseason program, including last year's rookie standouts Colston Loveland and Luther Burden III. But there are a pair of newcomers in veteran Kalif Raymond and rookie Zavion Thomas who flashed during Tuesday's practice.
Before Tuesday's session, head coach Ben Johnson sang Raymond's praises, and he proceeded to impress on the field. According to Mark Carman, Raymond "flashed all over the field." Clay Harbor added that Raymond made a lot of plays. "Quick in and out of breaks, great burst, and put (rookie Dillon) Thieneman in a blender once." The only mark against him was an apparent miscommunication with quarterback Caleb Williams during the two-minute drill, which resulted in one of Jaylon Johnson's two interceptions on the afternoon.
Meanwhile, Thomas "keeps flashing," according to Clay Harbor, and that's been a popular sentiment throughout rookie minicamp, OTAs and now veteran minicamp. "Smooth routes, good ball skills, quick-screen TD, and that 4.2 speed showed up." According to Zack Pearson, Thomas came up big during the two-minute drill with the second-team offense, where he "(took) a short pass for a touchdown" where "the speed was on display and real." Mark Carman also noted another highlight where Thomas "showed off 4.2 speed on (a) screen pass from Tyson Bagent to the house."
Kyler Gordon still isn't practicing
While I warned you to not to read too much into minicamp, that was more performance-focused than anything. When it comes to nickel cornerback Kyler Gordon and his lack of availability, there is very much cause for concern. Gordon reportedly is nursing another soft tissue injury (as previously reported by Brad Biggs), and it held him out of Tuesday's first session.
Gordon missed 14 games and had two stints on injured reserve last season amid a slew of soft tissue issues including groin, hamstring and calf injuries. It's clear that Gordon's lack of availability has frustrated Ben Johnson, and the fact that he still isn't on the practice field is concerning.
“This spring was going to be a springboard for us to get going the right direction and we're still working through that," Johnson said last week during OTAs. "We're still trying to get that availability piece going. We know he is a good player when he is out there, but trust level's a huge thing for this team, for this coaching staff, for the locker room. You can only develop that trust by being available.”
Tyrique Stevenson and D'Marco Jackson exit practice with injuries
To make matters worse on the injury front, the Bears lost two notable defenders to injury during Tuesday's practice. Cornerback Tyrique Stevenson and linebacker D'Marco Jackson both exited during the first minicamp session. According to Brad Biggs, Stevenson appeared to suffer a foot or ankle injury that doesn't seem serious. Meanwhile, Jackson exited near the end of practice.
Here's a full list of players who didn't participate on Tuesday (via Zack Pearson): Gordon, offensive linemen Ozzy Trapilo and Jedrick Wills, defensive linemen Shemar Turner, Neville Gallimore and Jordan Lynch, linebackers Noah Sewell, Ruben Hypolite and Keyshaun Elliott and defensive back Cam Lewis.
Some good injury news
There is good news on the injury front as linebacker T.J. Edwards and defensive end Dayo Odeyingbo both participated in team drills for the first time this spring, according to Sean Hammond. Edwards is coming off a fractured fibula suffered in January's wild-card win over the Green Bay Packers. Meanwhile, Odeyingbo is recovering from a torn Achilles in a Week 9 win over the Cincinnati Bengals. According to Clay Harbor, Edwards was "moving well."
This article originally appeared on Bears Wire: Chicago Bears minicamp: Takeaways from Day 1
Continue reading...
