Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson said that rookie wide receiver Luther Burden would be ramped up as they ease him back after returning from injury yesterday, and today was his first day participating in team drills. At one point, a mental mistake by the rookie brought the wrath of his head coach, who took him out of a team drill.
Johnson said at his prepractice press conference, “It shows up already. I mean, we were in the walk-through yesterday afternoon, and the misalignments – we have to re-huddle, we have to start it all over again. He’s a little bit behind right now.”
Johnson also talked about how Caleb Williams and the offense have been making strides each day.
“I probably just see growth,” Johnson said about his quarterback’s progression. “He is so much more comfortable right now. He’s doing the work behind the scenes that no one else is seeing, and we’re starting to see the dividends being paid from it.”
Those strides from Caleb and the offense were on display today*, as you’ll see in the Tweets below after these injury updates.
- Defensive end Tanoh Kpassagnon, who left with an injury yesterday, was back at practice. However, offensive lineman Bill Murray, who limped off the field yesterday, was held out.
- Reserve center Doug Kramer Jr. returned after missing yesterday.
- Rookies Zah Frazier (personal?) and Shemar Turner (ankle) were not at practice.
Now to the Tweets!
Jaquan Brisker screaming “let’s goooo!” as the Bears start 11-on-11 drills.
— Mark Carman (@thecarm) July 29, 2025
1st 11 on 11s was electric. LIVE HITTING!
Featuring some tough running by Swift. Some hard tackles by the Dexter, Edwards and the defense.
Caleb’s first pass of the day was a frozen rope to DJ Moore.
— Greg Braggs Jr. (@GBraggsJr23) July 29, 2025
Caleb threw a nice dot to DJ Moore with his first pass in 11 on 11s
— 79th & Halas Podcast (@79thAndHalas) July 29, 2025
Ruben Hyppolite with a nice pass breakup down right sideline. Tyson Bagent was rolling out (probably a sack) and tried hitting Colston Loveland. #Bears
— Bear Report (@BearReport) July 29, 2025
Special team work happening now
Luther Burden returning punts
— DaWindyCity Productions (@dwcprodz) July 29, 2025
Ben Johnson wasn’t lying when he said they are exploring options to get DJ Moore the ball more in space. #Bears
— Zack Pearson (@Zack_Pearson) July 29, 2025
Yesterday, the Bears lined DJ Moore up at tailback, and today Ben Johsnon said they want to find ways to get him the ball. “We are exploring some things. He’s a physical, run after catch just ‘get me the ball’ type of guy,” Johnson said of Moore.
#Bears are giving their LT’s the chance to win the job. Both Braxton Jones and Kiran Amegadjie have seen reps with the first team at LT so far today in 11 on 11.
— Bear Report (@BearReport) July 29, 2025
Caleb Williams tried to hit DJ Moore deep down right sideline but refs called DPI on Kyler Gordon. He pretty much had to or it would have been a long gain. Nice ball. #Bears
— Zack Pearson (@Zack_Pearson) July 29, 2025
Caleb is in the zone today, you can tell he’s learning
— VP of Wu Tang Financial (@BarbChairScott) July 29, 2025
That was a quick ramp up period. Rookie Luther Burden III has already worked his way into some 1st team reps during 11 on 11.
— Courtney Cronin (@CourtneyRCronin) July 29, 2025
Dennis Allen’s defense having a very strong camp. Ben Johnson wasn’t wrong when he said they are playing tighter coverage.
Not giving Caleb Williams and the offense anything easy. #Bears
— Zack Pearson (@Zack_Pearson) July 29, 2025
Not a banner day for the #Bears offense. In live 11-on-11 drills, their fourth-and-15 fell short.
— Patrick Finley (@patrickfinley) July 29, 2025
Practice is a wrap, very strong ending for the defense & even Montez Sweat was barking. He could be heard yelling GET YALL ASS OFF THE FIELD! on the 1st team offense’s last drive but overall still a good day for Caleb & the offense it’s very evident that he’s starting to click
— 79th & Halas Podcast (@79thAndHalas) July 29, 2025
I think we will see difference in opinions today about practice. It started good for the first team offense but overall? Not a great day IMO. Defense took it.
Offense struggled in team drills and two minute.
Caleb Williams should have had a long TD to DJ Moore but a DPI…
— Bear Report (@BearReport) July 29, 2025
#Bears wrapped up a 2-hour practice in full pads. For the 2nd consecutive day, there was a significant emphasis on the running game. There was a very small live period. A couple good hits throughout the session.
Rotation at LT ongoing.
Defense dominated 2-minute drill at end.— Brad Biggs (@BradBiggs) July 29, 2025
Bears training camp standout ⭐ (per @AlexShapiroCHSN)
The Run Game
D’Andre Swift, Roschon Johnson, and Kyle Monangai all had good runs during the team’s second padded practice. The OL was also effective blocking up front. pic.twitter.com/0swQuKQiEU
— Bears on CHSN (@CHSN_Bears) July 29, 2025
* Overall, this was a nice day for Caleb and the offense as they are definitely progressing, but it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. There were ups and downs, and those will continue as Ben Johnson installs and works through to find what his team does best. We’ve often heard that an NFL season is a marathon and not a sprint, and the same can be said for building a new offense.
