Taking a page from Sean Payton and Bill Parcells, Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson held practice Monday afternoon, one day after the team’s preseason opener.
Only starters who didn’t play Sunday, and players who played very limited reps, were on the field at Halas Hall for an unpadded practice. It wasn’t pretty for the offense, but if we’ve learned anything from camp, that unit could easily bounce back Wednesday.
With less than a month to go until “Monday Night Football” against the Minnesota Vikings, here’s a stock report from Bears camp.
Stock up
Montez Sweat, DE
All that matters is if it translates to the regular season, sure, but it has to be a positive sign for everyone in the building that Sweat is having a good camp. I’ve written down “No. 98” in my notes several times for pressures, sacks and tackles for loss. Most importantly, Sweat has yet to miss a practice. “I think he brings his lunch pail to work every day from the springtime to since we started camp,” Johnson said. “He’s not afraid to be a little more vocal and talk some noise, which I appreciate. I love that about him. I’m really happy with where he’s at right now.”
Jaquan Brisker, S
Unsurprisingly, Brisker hasn’t changed his aggressive mindset. He told us that he knows not to lead with his helmet — and he got a new helmet for this season — so we’ll see if that helps prevent what can sometimes be the unpreventable, a brain injury in football, but he’s been impactful this summer. He’s made plays on the ball. He’s been vocal. He’s flying around the secondary. Now it’s about staying healthy and being a game-changer in the regular season.
Tremaine Edmunds, LB
Similar to Sweat, someone with the accolades and salary of Edmunds should stand out in camp. Then again, coming off a season in which he didn’t make as many splash plays as someone with that resume should, it’s been important to see him active this summer, from interceptions to tackles for loss. It can’t be said enough that Edmunds is only 27. He should have plenty of good football ahead of him.
Colston Loveland, TE
A word that would not be used with Loveland is “awkward.” He is smooth and knows how to use his frame. He’s been a friendly target for the quarterbacks. Of course, we don’t see what’s going on in the classroom to know if he’s in the right spot every time, but coaches and players have raved about him thus far. “He’s friendly to throw to,” quarterback Case Keenum said. “He’s got good body language. There’s that non-verbal communication that lets the quarterback know that he knows where the ball is and should be and has good body position in relation to defenders. And then based on what route it is, knows when to be open in a lot of ways.”
Interior offensive line
While the offense doesn’t look like that of the Lions, the upgrades made at guard and center have been noticeable. The pockets have generally been clean up the middle. Drew Dalman and Caleb Williams have had a few issues on snaps, but from a pressure standpoint, how they’re blocking for the run, and penalty-wise, Joe Thuney, Jonah Jackson and Dalman have been stout.
Running backs
It’s one of the most difficult positions to evaluate in training camp, but the preseason game included some really nice runs from rookie Kyle Monangai and second-year pro Ian Wheeler, who missed his rookie season with a torn ACL. Even undrafted rookie Deion Hankins flashed with a touchdown catch and some tough runs.
Hankins and Wheeler are likely destined for the practice squad depending on the roster, but the group behind D’Andre Swift has held up nicely considering the lack of star power. Swift, too, has had a good camp.
Doyle added to a summer of praise for Monangai, saying Monday, “When you watch a guy like that, it’s fun because you look at him and you’re like, ‘That’s what we want our organization to represent,’ a guy that’s tough, hard-nosed, he’s willing to stick his face in the fan and he’s going to fight.”
Tyson Bagent, QB
Oftentimes, a coach will have nothing but positives when asked about a player, but there’s something different about the way coaches respond to questions about Bagent. You wouldn’t think he’s in a competition to be a backup.
Take Johnson from last week, “Man, he’s been phenomenal. I mean, he’s smart as a whip. Appreciate the seriousness and intent that he brings every time he walks into a room. Meeting room, walk-through, it doesn’t matter. He’s locked in. He’s focused. I think his teammates feel that from him. Love the fact, you know, he’ll throw the ball and he keeps working through his progressions just so it goes home with exactly where everyone’s going to be in case he had to move on. I think he’s taken this seriously. He’s preparing the right way. And I couldn’t be more thrilled that he’s here with us.”
It’s true — after Bagent makes a throw in practice, he moves his feet and eyes to whoever the next progression would be and mimics the throw. He had a tough start against Miami before settling in, but the Bears are fortunate to have him.
Bagent to Burden for the first down 👉
📺: FOX32 pic.twitter.com/AFZt1GYYRD
— Chicago Bears (@ChicagoBears) August 10, 2025
Nahshon Wright and Terell Smith, CBs
In Jaylon Johnson’s absence, an already-deep cornerbacks room has brought a new name into the lexicon with Wright, the 6-foot-4 outside corner who has been one of the most pleasant surprises of the offseason. Smith, who has always played well when called upon, made some big plays against the Dolphins in the joint practice. Tyrique Stevenson, who likely has the leg up on the competition, has had positive moments, too. Throw in backup nickel Josh Blackwell and the second-team corners are offering defensive coordinator Dennis Allen — and maybe general manager Ryan Poles — some flexibility.
Stock down
Passing game
Monday’s practice might have been a low point for the first-team offense. It should be noted that a majority of the roster got the day off after playing in Sunday’s game, and they weren’t in pads, but those are practices where the offense should be able to hum. Instead, the ball was on the ground a lot. Williams missed receivers, a few passes went off the hands, and practice ended with Williams and receiver Rome Odunze both looking frustrated after failing to connect. It hasn’t been a smooth camp for the passing offense.
Pre-snap operation
We’ve seen too many delay-of-game flags and false starts this summer. That’ll come with the territory of a new offense, but it’s still been too frequent. The Dolphins game included two illegal-shift penalties and an illegal-formation flag.
“Any time that’s happening, that’s unacceptable,” Doyle said. “That’s not our standard. Whoever — if they’re wearing a Bears uniform, that can’t happen. … There are elements of that that are, you know, it’s preseason. But that’s an excuse. That has to get right, and that’s something that we need to address right now.”
Jaylon Johnson, CB
If anyone on the team can miss all of training camp and the preseason and then step into the lineup for the season opener and look like himself, it’d probably be Johnson. Granted, that opener is against Vikings star wide receiver Justin Jefferson.
The timeline for Johnson is up in the air. If it really isn’t until Week 1, that’ll be a seven-week injury. He has missed out on reps, and who knows how this injury could affect Johnson moving into the season. It could be a blip, but it isn’t ideal.
The search for a dominant left tackle
Braxton Jones and rookie Ozzy Trapilo have been solid. Kiran Amegadjie, when healthy, has remained in the competition — and he was suited up for Monday’s practice. But no one has separated himself to the point where it’s obvious that Johnson could anoint someone today. It probably needs another week. Maybe that doesn’t matter in the end, but the sooner that player solidifies himself as the starter, the better.
“The tape doesn’t lie,” Doyle said. “It will become clearer and clearer as time goes on that one of those guys is going to separate themselves — in the eyes of the decision-makers, of Ben (Johnson), of our front office, of the O-line coaches, of myself. But incomplete evaluation thus far. We still have a lot of football left to play.”
Injured players
“You can’t make the club in the tub” is the old-school phrase. While the Bears are much more fortunate than other teams when it comes to their injured list, anyone who’s not on the field is missing opportunities.
Johnson is going to start when he returns, so his situation is different, but how long will running back Roschon Johnson be out, and how will that affect his role? How much will the snaps that Amegadjie and guard Bill Murray lost ultimately cost them? Rookie defensive tackle Shemar Turner has missed valuable time to get acclimated to the defense and learn the scheme. How soon before the coaches can count on him in a game?
Stock neutral
Caleb Williams, QB
Monday’s practice felt stuck in neutral, if not reverse, as if whatever was accomplished with Sunday’s pregame throwing session went backward at Halas Hall. Williams has had moments of greatness in camp, to be sure, but it hasn’t been consistent enough. The accuracy hasn’t been there like it was last summer.
He might have had his best practice last Tuesday, and he had some nice moments against the Dolphins, but the red-zone period wasn’t pretty. There’s still nearly a month to go until the season opener. Williams has the right coach calling plays and an upgraded line in front of him. And he has a few weeks to start stringing together some productive practices to lead into the opener.
“There’s no way to make it easy,” Doyle said. “You have to really go through that process, and that’s what we’ve been going through since we started, really when we got here. Just getting (Williams) used to his process. He’s coming to the line, accelerating that and then getting faster and faster at it so it becomes second nature. I saw Ben was talking about the Navy SEALs and trying to train a quarterback that way, and that’s really what we’re trying to do every day is just accelerate his process, his yes/no.”
(Photo of Caleb Williams: Kamil Krzaczynski / Imagn Images)
