The Chicago Bears held their first practice in pads Friday in front of fans at Halas Hall, and the intensity clearly ramped up.
They’ll have one more session in pads Saturday before a day off Sunday. Here’s our camp rundown after practice and interviews.
Caleb Williams watch
When defensive end DeMarcus Walker and tight end Gerald Everett got into a small verbal skirmish during a full-team period, one of the players to hop in the middle was rookie quarterback Caleb Williams.
That action, while maybe not advisable for a player upon whom so much hope rests, left an impression on center Ryan Bates.
“That’s my quarterback. I love that. I love that mentality,” Bates said. “He’s got to be smarter, though, because we can’t have that, God forbid anything happens.
“But I love when he stepped in there and got in the middle of it. That’s who he is. He’s a chippy guy. He wants to get in there, he wants to compete. Yeah, I love him so far.”
Williams also left a good final impression on fans in attendance by leading a touchdown drive during an end-of-practice two-minute drill. He threw a third-down pass to Rome Odunze to keep the drive alive and followed with a dart over the middle to Keenan Allen.
After an incompletion to a wide-open Odunze, he ran away from the defense and hit Tyler Scott for a 35-yard touchdown with 17 seconds to play.
That drive was the best of the practice for the Bears offense, which had more false-start penalties disrupt its day. That included back-to-back penalties in the second-to-last full-team period with Williams at quarterback.
“We’ve just got to go out there and lock in every play,” center Coleman Shelton said. “That’s the goal of every practice. It’s not always going to be perfect, but we strive for perfection so that’s what our mindset is.”
Players in the spotlight
Bates is trying to take a worry-free approach to the center competition with fellow newcomer Shelton.
“I wake up every day and — excuse my language — I just say, ‘(Bleep) it,’” Bates said. “Whatever happens, happens. You can’t worry about making a mistake. You can’t worry about stepping on eggshells. You’ve just got to go, and that’s kind of what I’m doing.”
The Bears continue to rotate Bates and Shelton on the first-team offensive line each practice in one of the few true position battles in camp.
The Bears traded a fifth-round pick in the offseason for Bates, who started 19 games over five seasons with the Buffalo Bills. Then they agreed to a one-year deal with Shelton, who started 32 games over five seasons with the Los Angeles Rams.
The Bears tried to sign Bates as a restricted free agent in general manager Ryan Poles’ first offseason, but the Bills matched the offer. Bates said they also tried to trade for him in the last two years before getting him on their third try. He said it feels “very nice” to be wanted.
Bears leaders made it clear to Bates he needs to be a leader for this team, a new role he embraces. He also believes he fits well in the offense.
“I’m athletic,” he said. “One of my biggest attributes is my feet. … I feel like this offense, it does well for me. I think I do well for the offense. I can just try to put my best foot forward every day and embrace it.”
Shelton said he and Bates are trying to help one another as they adjust to a new team, regardless of the competition.
“It’s something most NFL players go through,” he said. “It’s always a competition. You’ve got to earn your spot every time you step on that field. It’s just a certain mindset you’ve got to go out there with.”
Story of the day
The insane workout was part of a birthday tradition dreamed up by backup quarterback Tyson Bagent’s good friend.
Every year, Derek Gallagher comes up with some ridiculous feat of endurance and strength, and Bagent complies with the request. This year on June 19, it was the “One-Mile Burpee-Broad Jump.” Gallagher and Bagent alternated the two workout moves down the street for a half-mile to a river and back again past confused onlookers.
They celebrated afterward with breakfast at Betty’s in Shepherdstown, W.Va. — six eggs, bacon and toast.
It was part of what Bagent called an offseason of “grinding my absolute face off” as he enters Year 2 with the Bears. The undrafted free agent from Division II Shepherd said he was too busy training to worry about whether the Bears would replace him with a more seasoned veteran to play behind Williams this year.
“I was just excited to come back,” he said. “Whoever was going to be in the QB room was going to be in the QB room. Nothing was going to change my mind.
“It feels good to know they have confidence in me and that they like what I was able to do last year. And hopefully they’ve been able to see the strides I made in the offseason going into Year 2.”
After four starts last year in place of Justin Fields, Bagent said it feels good to play faster in this camp and without hesitation. The speed with which he can paint a picture in his head and understand his order of operations before getting to the line of scrimmage has greatly improved. He feels a sense of command in operating the offense.
He also feels like he can be a better resource for Williams as a backup than he was last year, when he would watch Fields, third-string quarterback Nathan Peterman and offensive coordinator Luke Getsy bounce ideas off one another.
“I would kind of sit there and wonder, ‘Man, am I ever going to be able to engage and help out in these conversations?’” Bagent said. “And it’s been a huge weight lifted off my shoulders just coming in this year and basing things off my experience last year and being able to bounce ideas off of (quarterback Brett Rypien and offensive coordinator Shane Waldron).
“I’ve made a lot of progress in that as far as being a resource and somebody that can help out with things that I’ve seen or that I’ve had to experience in playing time. I want the Bears to win the Super Bowl, so being that resource, if it’s what I need to do, then I’ll do it to the best of my ability.”
Quote of note
Bagent on why he believes Waldron is a good teacher: “He does a great job of understanding what the player is feeling in the plays. He has coached everywhere. He has taught all these concepts before. So maybe just the on-paper answer that another coach will give, he can give real life examples of, ‘Hey, you know this actually doesn’t work in this look? So this is how we’re going to do this to make it easier for you guys so you guys can play fast.’
“Because at the end of the day, right or wrong, as long as we’re playing fast with no hesitation, you give yourself a better chance. So he does a good job of being in the player’s head and understanding what they’re thinking on different plays.”
Injury report
- Nickel cornerback Kyler Gordon was present but didn’t participate as he continues to deal with what coach Matt Eberflus called “tightness.” Gordon also missed practice Thursday. Greg Stroman and undrafted rookie Reddy Steward received first-team reps in Gordon’s place.
- Defensive end Jake Martin came out of a full-team drill to have his left foot and ankle checked out. He left practice early to head inside.
- Left tackle Braxton Jones, who has been limited to start camp, received a good amount of full-team reps.
- Linebacker Noah Sewell and wide receiver Nsimba Webster were limited.
