The Chicago Bears? 13th practice of 2024 training camp was headlined by several players returning to action.
Darnell Wright, Nate Davis, and Teven Jenkins were all back at practice after missing or leaving Sunday?s session. Davis and Wright had each missed multiple sessions with the former returning Sunday but following a similar pattern of doing position drills and then side work. Jenkins had left Sunday?s session with head trainer Andre Tucker but was full-go on Tuesday.
Joining them was second-year running back Roschon Johnson, though no updates were given on his status after practice.
Head Coach Matt Eberflus spoke about managing expectations in light of his conversation with former Alabama head coach Nick Saban while Keenan Allen, Rome Odunze, and Jonathan Owens all stepped to the podium as well.
Bears Training Camp Notes: Keenan Allen Reacts to DJ Moore?s Contract Comments
Keenan Allen: Support From DJ Moore ?Feels Great?
Allen is in the final year of a four-year, $80.1 million contract. He also changed agents during the 2024 offseason. Asked about his desire to sign an extension right now, Allen told Clocker Sports that was not really his focus at the moment.
He did, however, say that he appreciated teammate DJ Moore?s comments following the latter?s recent four-year, $110 million contract extension.
Moore said he was pushing for Allen to get his extension too.
?Feels great,? Allen told Clocker Sports after Tuesday?s practice. ?Obviously, he just secured it, and that’s great. Anytime a receiver, especially a guy in our room, somebody that we’re going to see every day, it just brings the morale, the excitement up every day. And [I?m] happy for him and, yeah, we’ll see what we’ll see what happens.?
Moore said he asked Allen what his desired contract number was. He did not reveal the number and Allen did not face any questions for those details. He did say he was not looking to extend right now.
Instead, he is more than willing to let the season play out on his contract.
Rome Odunze ?Ecstatic? Over DJ Moore?s Historic Contract Run
Speaking of Moore, rookie teammate Rome Odunze marveled at the veteran?s contract, which included $82 million in guarantees.
?I was super happy,? Odunze said on Tuesday. ?Just the minimal time that we’ve got to spend with each other, he’s been a great mentor for me and a great ambassador of this organization, in this league as a whole. Great person on and off the field and a great player as well.
?I was ecstatic. I think he’s the first player to have his first 10 years guaranteed. Right, or something like that? Man, that’s huge to have that happen, and he deserves it all honestly. I think he’s continued to be underrated in this league. I think if you turn on the tape and see what he’s capable of doing, it’s tremendous. So I’m glad that they finally got it settled.?
Odunze, Allen said, enters the league more polished than even he was.
Allen was a technician on the field coming out of college, which speaks volumes about how the six-time Pro Bowler views Odunze.
The rookie, though, continued a theme on the day of tamping down external expectations. He was asked about blocking out the outside noise. Odunze ? who said his current situation behind Allen and Moore is ?perfect? ? acknowledged the difficulty in doing so.
?It’s tough to,? Odunze said. ?There’s you know a lot of different things, especially within the offense as a whole. A lot of information out there, especially in the world media. All those different things. There’s information overload, especially if you get to scrolling on TikTok for hours. That’s that brain rot right there.
?[Former Washington offensive coordinator Ryan] Grubb my old coordinator used to say, ?Be the signal, not the distraction.? And there’s a bunch of signals on this team. Guys who are the beacon for people and a bunch of signals and beacons out there in the world that ? radiate that energy, that sound, that noise. And focusing on those things, I think, is most important. And, of course, No. 1 beacon being God. Anything you do, playing through him and going towards his light, you’ll probably be alright.?
Matt Eberflus Talks Expectations for Caleb Williams
Expectations are abound for this Bears team, and it starts with Caleb Williams. He is the No. 1 pick of the 2024 NFL Draft and a former Heisman Trophy winner. Still, Saban told Eberflus that expectations placed on the rookie are nearly impossible for him to meet.
The exchange came to light in a clip from the premiere episode of HBO?s ?Hard Knocks,? that debuts on August 6.
Asked about managing those expectations, Eberflus said they focus internally.
?It’s about being here and being right where you are,? Eberflus told Clocker Sports on Tuesday. ?It’s about the execution in the moment; you got to execute right now in the moment, in that particular play. Expectations are something that’s put on by outside forces, and we operate from the inside out.
?What’s important most is what the coaches, what the players, what we say we’re doing and how we’re doing it and the process we go through. So that’s how I think you manage that. You partner up with your coach, with the vets, with the players, and we do it that way.?
The Bears won five of their final eight games in 2023 and finished the season as one of the hottest defenses.
Eberflus has routinely shot down the idea that those rankings mattered now.
The team is taking the same approach in camp with Williams, not getting too high or low on any particular play. They have been universally pleased and even impressed with how he has handled it so far.
The real test will, of course, be when he takes the field for the first time in a game, likely as soon as this weekend versus the Buffalo Bills if his offensive line is healthy enough.
Jonathan Owens on Competition With Olympian Wife
Backup safety Jonathan Owens returned from his trip to the Olympics to support his wife Simone Biles feeling as though he had not missed a beat. Owens credited the coaching staff with keeping him abreast of the goings on at practice during his absence.
He said he only missed one new call going into the defense. But Ownens did watch the Hall of Fame Game live to support his teammates.
He proudly showed off his collection of pins, noting his favorite featured Biles? signature.
Owens noted all of the competitive juices flowing while he was in Paris. But when asked, Owens told Clocker Sports that he and Biles do not engage in that when they are together. He did say that they might get into an occasional game of ping pong or darts (via phone app).
Owens offered a diplomatic answer that could go in favor of either party when asked who wins when they face off on ping pong.
?Who you think, man? Come on,? Owens said with a smile.
Position Battle for Nate Davis, (Temporary) Change Velus Jones in Bears Training Camp
Offensive Coordinator Shane Waldron denied that there was any controversy over who the starting right guard was, saying that it was Davis? job when healthy. Unfortunately for Davis, he has not been healthy.
His absence has allowed 2024 trade acquisition Ryan Bates to step in a perform well enough for Eberflus to stop short of guaranteeing Davis? spot in the starting lineup.
?If a person’s out for an extended period of time and a player that’s in that position is playing very well at a starter level and doing a good job there, then you create the competition. Then you say, ?Hey, there’s a competition.? People say, ?Well, you can’t lose a job because of injury. I don’t think that’s true.
?If the guy that’s playing there gives our team a good look and a good benefit for him being in that position then it’s a competition or the other guy could take it over. But that’s not just that guard, that’s at all positions.?
Elsewhere, Velus Jones Jr. has done running back drills for at least the last two practices.
?That’s a thing we’re going to do during this block [through the Bills game],? Eberflus said. ?He was welcome to that, and we feel that because of the versatility, of the talent, and the skill sets that he offers our offense, it?s another way to have a weapon back there. So again, hopefully, that grows into something and again that’s Shane and the offensive staff just being creative, being able to maximize our talents on our roster, so that’s good to see him back there.?
The Bears drafted Jones, a third-round pick in 2022, as a receiver. Special Teams Coordinator Richard Hightower believes he has the potential to be a star under the new kick return format.
He notably has 17 carries to 11 receptions in his career.