Chicago Bears first-round pick Colston Loveland is one of three tight ends drafted by the franchise in the first round. Ever. He was largely a spectator on the Friday as he continues his recovery from a shoulder injury that required surgery in January following his final collegiate season.
Bear head coach Ben Johnson did not set a specific timetable for his return to the action, but he did float “six weeks” as a reference when asked about his first top selection as a head coach.
For Loveland, he is just “itching” to get back out on the field.
Bears TE Colston Loveland Gets Honest Amid Injury Rehab Limitations
Colston Loveland Mostly a Spectator During 1st Bears Rookie Minicamp Practice
The Bears’ rookie draft picks, undrafted free agents, and other roster hopefuls took the field for the first practice of their three-day rookie minicamp. The No. 10 overall pick, though, had to watch when the team did anything more than stretch. He did a separate routine on the side.
The lack of on-field work is not lost on Loveland, who said he was anxious to get back out there.
“Hitting bags,” Loveland told Clocker Sports when asked if there was something he was looking forward to doing once cleared.
“Once we can actually hit each other, doing that. Just getting back into playing football. [It] has been a while. So, yeah. I’m just excited to be more hands-on and start getting out there. I’m itching to go out there for sure.”
In the meantime, Loveland’s focus is on taking mental reps.
Ben Johnson: Getting Colston Loveland Healthy the ‘Priority’
That is what Johnson wants as the Bears seek ways to help “speed up the learning process” for Loveland ahead of his highly anticipated return to the field.
“It’s a matter of meeting, watching the tape, walking through. Particularly a guy like Colston right now that [is] a little dinged up still. And so, we’re rehabbing him. And then, that’s a priority for us is getting him back healthy,” Johnson told reporters on Friday.
“The sooner he gets healthy, then we get the full speed reps, and that’s where it really all comes together. So, it’s more mental, and we’re going to take full opportunity of the time we have with him over the next, call it, six weeks, in terms of getting him up to speed with not only what the veterans know mentally, but how much can we walk through with him on the side to speed up the learning process.”
The Bears still have TE1 Cole Kmet.
They also signed former Miami Dolphins veteran Durham Smythe in free agency to handle a role focused on blocking.
Still, the idea of their first-round pick missing time as training camp – and even OTAs beginning on May 20 – is not something anyone in Halas Hall wants. The hope is that it does not come to that, and Loveland makes his on-field (practice) debut for the Bears sooner rather than later.
Time will tell.
Notably, Johnson’s “six weeks” example would leave the Bears’ mandatory minicamp in June as Loveland’s next opportunity to take the field in a practice capacity.