The Chicago Bears have now gone through four training camp practices, various OTAs, all of mandatory minicamp, and part of rookie minicamp without Luther Burden III on the field.
Injured during a drill in rookie minicamp, Burden returned for one more session before he was sidelined. Bears head coach Ben Johnson was hopeful Burden would be back for the start of training camp. He also acknowledged the rookie is missing “a lot” by not being on the field.
However, teammate Rome Odunze lauded Burden’s physical and mental capabilities.
Rome Odunze Offers Strong Endorsement of Luther Burden III Amid Bears Training Camp
Luther Burden III M.I.A On Field for Bears
Odunze is in his second season, so the former No. 9 overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft knows all-too-well what Johnson means by saying Burden has missed so much during the Bears’ offseason program.
Odunze is not worried about Burden, though. He said he took notice of the rookie while Burden was still in college at Missouri.
Odunze also pointed to what he has seen from Burden so far.
“He hasn’t been on the field, but he’s been in the meeting rooms, dialed in. Been in the treatment room getting everything he needs. So, he’s been handling his responsibilities from what he’s capable of doing right now,” Odunze told Clocker Sports after Saturday’s practice.
“As much as you can help him with just talking about the offense, and him learning and seeing different things. It’s going to take getting reps, of course, to kind of fully grasp it and fully get into it. But I’m not worried about it. I got to watch him in college do his thing. And when he was healthy, he was doing his thing here. So, he’s a fast learner, and he’ll get up to speed real quick.”
Burden was a projected first-round pick before the postseason pre-draft process saw him slip to the Bears at No. 39 overall.
Bears Offense Shows Apparent Signs of Improvement
It can be difficult to discern which aspects of the Bears’ first four days of training camp practice are legit and which are manufactured, situational instances. Interceptions are one thing that no team wants from its offense in any situation (defense is, of course, a different story).
In that sense, starting quarterback Caleb Williams and the first-team offense can come away from their final practice of their first week pleased with the lack of turnovers.
Williams had back-to-back INTs in the red zone during Friday’s practice.
There were still plenty of items to clean up. There were errant throws, drops, and presnap penalties, but the operation was smoother than it had been, and Williams connected with Odunze on a TD pass. Moreover, as the coaching staff has pointed out, the players seemed to avoid making the same mistakes that led to those picks, even if some of it was by chance.
Johnson noted their work to get the ball out of Williams’ hands quicker among the things they are addressing, and that appeared to show in the play-calling.
Training camp is the time for mistakes, and Williams and the Bears made plenty this week.
They have, to a man, come away pleased with their first week of work, though, which is great news. The Bears are set to put the pads on starting next week. That is when the level of intensity on the field will rise.
Bears Get Braxton Jones Back in Telling Fashion
The Bears were without starting left tackle Braxton Jones for the duration of the offseason program. He was recovering from ankle surgery. Jones returned to the field to start training camp, but he was limited to offense-only work at most.
After a planned off day on Friday, Jones was back on the field on Saturday.
More notably, he was working with the starters at points during 11-on-11 periods. Those feature linemen on both sides of the ball, i.e., live reps.
Rookie second-round Ozzy Trapilo mostly filled in for Jones during the offseason program. Trapilo worked in behind 2024 third-rounder Kiran Amegadjie on Saturday, just as he did on Wednesday. With all three at full participation, and the pads coming on next week, the Bears’ left tackle competition can begin in earnest.