The Chicago Bears held their first padded practice of 2024 training camp. The results were fairly predictable from choppiness to chippiness.
Afterward, Special Teams Coordinator Richard Hightower offered some telling insight into how they are planning to handle the new format for kickoffs being implemented this season. He also named several players who could be back in the returner?s role.
Centers Coleman Shelton and Ryan Bates and backup quarterback Tyson Bagent also spoke.
Bears Training Camp Notes: Super Bowl Shelton
Coleman Shelton Bringing Championship Habits
Coleman Shelton #65 of the Chicago Bears. Mandatory Credit: Clocker Sports
The Bears signed Coleman Shelton to a one-year, $3 million contract in free agency. He arrives with 30 games of starting experience between the 2022 and 2023 seasons, starting all 17 games for the Los Angeles Rams in 2023.
He was also a member of their Super Bowl-winning squad in 2021 and is trying to instill some of the habits from that group into this one.
His message was a simple one.
?It’s just hard work day to day,? Shelton told Clocker Sports after Friday?s practice. ?It’s just working together and striving to be the best you can be for your teammate and for each other ? it’s coming together as a team.?
The Bears, of course, have not been to the Super Bowl since 2006, and they have not won one since 1985.
Their last winning season was in 2018.
There is a sizeable gap between the reality Shelton left in LA where he enjoyed winning records in five of his six seasons as a Ram, including three trips to the playoffs and the victory in Super Bowl LVI.
Ryan Bates, Coleman Shelton, and Aaron Kromer
Ryan Bates #71 of the Chicago Bears. Mandatory Credit: Clocker Sports
The Bears listed Shelton and Bates as co-starters on their first unofficial depth chart of the 2024 season. The latter was asked directly what differentiates them.
?We’re very similar. We’re both lighter guys, we’re not 320, 330 pounds. We both can move really well,? Bates told Clocker Sports after Friday?s practice. ?We play really similar we come from the same coach in the past; he had an LA I had in Buffalo. So we’ve been coached and taught the same things prior of being here. So we have the same mindset. The way we think, the way we move, it’s all very similar.?
Bates said he and Shelton were both coached by Aaron Kromer.
Kromer, a long-time offensive line coach, spent the 2013 and 2014 seasons as the Bears offensive coordinator under former head coach Marc Trestman. Bates? arrival marks the culmination of a multi-year effort by Bears general manager Ryan Poles to bring him to Chicago.
The Bears signed Bates to an offer sheet as a restricted free agent in 2022, but the Bills matched it.
Bates said Poles made other attempts to trade for him before finally doing so this offseason.
Bates also said that he and Shelton were coached by former New England Patriots center Ryan Wendell, adding to their similarities. Shelton has more starting experience at center. But Bates has assumed a leadership role, setting up an intriguing battle in training camp.
Tyson Bagent?s Bow & Arrow
Tyson Bagent #17 of the Chicago Bears. Mandatory Credit: Clocker Sports
Bagent?s role as the top backup behind starter and rookie No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams is secured, but only in pencil. The Bears attached an ?or? between him and fellow backup Brett Rypien on the first unofficial depth chart of training camp.
Bagent said he was ?too busy grinding my absolute face off? in the offseason to worry about the Bears adding another quarterback.
He has incorporated a new(ish) celebration; the bow and arrow.
?I think I did it once in the spring and then it was kind of just felt nice, it doesn’t take a whole lot, and everybody kind of has understanding of kind of what that means. Just threw a good pass,? Bagent told Clocker Sports Friday. ?I like to get excited. All I really think about is football. So when I’m able to go out there and make plays, like to kind of just bask in it and be able to celebrate a little bit.?
In a perfect world for the Bears, Bagent will never have to be under consideration for meaningful game reps during the regular season. It may be reassuring that Bagent?s confidence and determination are still high.
Bagent went 2-2 as a starter, filling in for Justin Fields in 2023. He completed 65.7% of his passes for 859 yards with three touchdowns to six interceptions.
He lamented throwing his first interception of training camp on Friday.
Bagent said that he ?loves? Fields, who helped bring him along in the league. Now, Bagent will have to fend off Rypien. Rypien has previous experience within the offense and with offensive coordinator Shane Waldron.
Poles made Bagent a priority undrafted free agent, though. One of Bagent and Rypien appears headed for the practice squad.
Velus Jones Jr. Could be Perfect for New Kickoff Format
Velus Jones Jr. #12 of the Chicago Bears. Mandatory Credit: Clocker Sports
Hightower said he was sure teams would be watching the Bears take on the Houston Texans in the Hall of Fame game to get a glimpse at the tweaked kickoff format. He also said that they would be watching how other teams? operations went during the exhibition season too.
Hightower also pointed to former third-round pick Velus Jones Jr. as a potential beneficiary of the rules which, among other things, will see play start after the returner fields the ball.
?I just think with a player his size ? 6-foot, 200-plus pounds that can run a 4.31 [40-yard dash], they don’t make guys like that every day with that type of speed and that type of size,? Hightower told reporters on Friday. ?So him having a ball in his hand four or five more times a game gives him a chance to bring some excitement and some really good field position.
Jones, 27, was the No. 71 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.
He has logged more carries (17) than receptions (11) in his two NFL seasons. He has also dealt with fumbling and fielding issues. The Bears added veteran return ace DeAndre Carter in free agency. They also still have 2023 fourth-round pick Tyler Scott in tow.
Hightower also mentioned several higher-profile names, including receivers DJ Moore, Rome Odunze, and cornerback Tyrique Stevenson.
Scrappiness at Practice Expected at Bears Training Camp
Gerald Everett #14 and DeMarcus Walker #95 of the Chicago Bears. Mandatory Credit: Clocker Sports
During one 11-on-11 drill, defensive lineman DeMarcus Walker and tight end Gerald Everett continued to push and shove after the play was over. Williams was first in the fray to break up the scrap. Montez Sweat was in there too, though his method of breaking up the play was less diplomatic than Williams? was.
Players commended Williams for getting in and showing leadership.
However, Bates said he wants Williams to be smart and avoid putting himself in harm?s way. Still, the chippiness came as no surprise to anyone asked. This was the Bears? seventh day of training camp and their sixth practice.
They had shells on for a couple of days earlier in the week. But Friday was their closest to full contact.
With a game on August 1, this is a welcome advancement to the next phase of training camp. But the Bears are already dealing with some bumps and bruises. Starting nickelback Kyler Gordon is dealing with some ?tightness,? per Head Coach Matt Eberflus.
Moore went down hard on a missed deep connection on Friday. He was able to remain active and practice through it.
