LAKE FOREST, Ill. — The Chicago Bears’ first padded practice of 2025 didn’t bring the type of raucous energy that can sometimes mark the first day of hitting.
That might have been by design. Coming off an off day and in the heat and humidity, it was still a high-effort, productive practice, but perhaps the intensity also requires a “ramp-up period.”
“It was hot. That’s what it looked like out there,” said safety Jaquan Brisker, noted energy-bringer. “The energy wasn’t bad; everybody was just trying to be under control.”
Before recent training camp changes, teams used to have two non-padded practices to start training camp, and then on Day 3, they got after it. Now it’s four non-padded practices, a day off and then the pads come on. So, the vibe is a little different, but don’t expect that to last long, not under coach Ben Johnson.
For the players, the approach remained the same.
“I wouldn’t say it’s too different,” center Drew Dalman said. “There’s different things that are allowed in practice, more high-contact drills and things like that. But as far as mindset and mentality, we’re coming out to work as hard as we can. Football’s a physical game, and we plan on being a physical team. That’s been part of our DNA this whole time.”
11-on-11 observations
Johnson is making sure quarterback Caleb Williams is well-versed under center. Most of the reps in team drills had Williams taking the snap right behind Dalman.
According to TruMedia, the Lions’ Jared Goff led the league last season with 217 pass attempts from under center, 63 more than Sam Darnold, who ranked second. Goff’s passer rating was 121.2 and his EPA (Expected Points Added) per pass was 0.40, third best in the league.
Williams attempted only 71 passes from under center last season. With the pads on and the pass rush a little more realistic, the importance of those reps increased during Monday’s practice.
The 11-on-11 drills began with a play-action pass to rookie tight end Colston Loveland. Later, Williams got sacked on a play-action pass attempt.
On the third and final set of team drills, Williams completed three consecutive passes — one to tight end Cole Kmet and two to receiver Olamide Zaccheaus, who has been a frequent target this summer. There were also several run plays in the team periods.
Each left tackle received a series with the starters, beginning with rookie Ozzy Trapilo. Braxton Jones had his first full practice of the offseason, and then Kiran Amegadjie — who was back after leaving Saturday’s practice with an apparent injury — took the first-team reps in the third series.
Attendance report
Rookie wide receiver Luther Burden III was present and in pads for the start of practice, when the team worked on its install and then went through stretching. That’s the last we saw of Burden for the day, but it was still a positive sign to see him out there for the first time since rookie minicamp.
Center Doug Kramer is day-to-day with a leg injury. Rookies Shemar Turner and Zah Frazier remained out.
Defensive end Tanoh Kpassagnon left practice on a cart with head trainer Andre Tucker, who appeared to be working on his arm or wrist.
Bears safety Jaquan Brisker says his role in coordinator Dennis Allen’s defense is “exactly what I wanted.” (Kamil Krzaczynski / USA Today via Imagn Images)
Brisker embracing new defense
Putting the pads on had to be a little symbolic for Brisker in his return from last season’s concussion. He continues to be the most vocal player on the field, and he made a play in team drills when he made a diving pass breakup on a Williams pass on the run.
“I should’ve picked that. I should’ve made a play on that,” he said. “I didn’t think he was going to try me, but he did. I should’ve come away with that, but it just ended up being a PBU.”
Brisker smiled and almost breathed a sigh of relief when describing what defensive coordinator Dennis Allen has in store for him.
“I’m in a lot of different packages, so I’m studying other positions too, which is perfect,” he said. “That’s exactly what I wanted. I’ve been waiting for so long. But now, here it goes. So, yeah, I’ll say that, which is good for me.”
At his best, Brisker is a playmaker with the versatility and range to hit in the box and cover receivers. Allen seems ready to take advantage of it.
“Just show that I can play everywhere and that I can make plays anywhere on the field,” Brisker said. “They see it, so it will come.”
Despite his concussion history, Brisker is not wearing a Guardian Cap, but he did say he switched helmets to a Riddell Axiom, one of the highest-rated helmets in lab testing last year.
Never one to shy away from goals, individual or team, Brisker has one number on his mind: 21.
“Really just play all 21 games. When I say 21, it’s plus playoffs and Super Bowl,” he said.
What’s next for Taylor?
We don’t know what types of punts Tory Taylor is being asked to execute each time, but we can see the returners backpedaling.
On Monday, Taylor boomed a few punts that had returners retreating to get under the ball. The leg strength was on display, as was his versatility with some more directional punts. That’s helping special teams coordinator Richard Hightower analyze his punt-return competition.
“Tory is doing a phenomenal job of challenging them, making it hard on them,” Hightower said. “A lot of specialty kicks out there that he’s worked on over the summer. So that’s challenging a lot of punt returners.”
Taylor set franchise records as a rookie and came back with more clubs in his bag.
“He has worked on a number of things over break,” Hightower said. “You know how it is when you’re a rookie and you’re coming, you’re drinking out of a fire hose, he’s had a chance to train. Not train for the combine, not those types of things where you’re always doing something in preparation for the draft.
“So he’s come back with a lot of different kicks and we’re excited to work those throughout camp.”
In the trenches
When the pads come on, we get to see the one-on-one drills between linemen. We could also hear offensive line coach Dan Roushar quite well from the media bleachers. He has an old-school personality.
Without knowing assignments or what’s being asked of players technique-wise, here are a few things that stood out.
• Dalman has some quickness, which was evident right away as he worked to stay with defensive tackle Gervon Dexter.
• Defensive tackle Andrew Billings gave offensive lineman Luke Newman a “welcome to the NFL moment” with his bull rush.
• Rookie tackle Ozzy Trapilo’s size is one thing, but he seemed to be aggressively jumping out with his first step to get his hands on the defensive ends.
• Right tackle Darnell Wright appeared to win a rep against Montez Sweat, moving his feet well to stay in front of Sweat.
• It’ll be a treat to get to watch guard Joe Thuney during camp, and his All-Pro technique was on display during a rep against fellow newcomer Grady Jarrett. Otherwise, Jarrett was giving the linemen fits.
• Dalman did a nice job locking down Billings, which isn’t easy and requires good strength at the point of attack.
Highlight of the day
While the linemen did their one-on-one drills, so did the receivers and cornerbacks. DJ Moore had a step or two on corner Tyrique Stevenson down the right sideline, and Williams put the throw on him for a long gain.
(Top photo: Kamil Krzaczynski / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
Source link
